


Storm of the Heart

by cylawings



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Roomates to friends to lovers, Slow Burn, Suicide Attempt, Swearing, Tags May Change, implied assault
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-05
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2018-11-09 06:12:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 43,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11098584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cylawings/pseuds/cylawings
Summary: Lloyd is finally in college! He's excited for this brand new start, excited to be going to the same college as his friends, but there's one issue.He has a roommate who doesn't seem too happy he's there.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was extremely nervous to post this but a bunch of friends told me to, so here we gooooo

Lloyd Garmadon liked to imagine he was a calm person, one that could put up with a lot. Living with his Uncle and his crazy students every day was a prime example of his level of patience. He thought he was perfectly prepared for college, having heard plenty of stories of the hellish world it was from the others. He had suspicions most of what happened to them were because of prank wars Jay and Kai started though.

In complete honesty, he was excited. He'd spent a lot of time with the students over the years, he'd be seeing them on campus now instead of only during club meetings(which happened almost every day regardless). It would be nice knowing people there before he even went. They'd already promised to show him around after lunch his first day.

Lloyd easily made it through checking in, and had been given directions with a key to his dorm. He had two bags with him, mostly full of the necessities, clothes, toothbrush, etc, but also a few small things he wanted to keep close. Important pictures of family and friends, as well as a few silly motivational posters.

He'd been warned he would have a roommate, though he wasn't sure what to expect. Hopefully someone kind. Maybe a blonde like him, or a brunette. He wondered if they'd be taking any similar classes.

As he approached the door, he set his bags down before whipping out the key. He unlocked it with ease, letting it swing open. He was met with the sight of a fairly clean room... except for the bed shoved into the back right corner.

A guy lay there, upside down on the bed, blanket a heap around his feet and pillow, with textbooks and papers surrounding him everywhere there was space. His hair was long and dark, pulled back into a messy ponytail. Lloyd didn't miss the green streak going through it. When the door opened, the mystery man looked up. He looked dead inside. His mouth was curved into a frown, eyes dull and surrounded by what Lloyd could only assume was dark eyeshadow. He looked like he was still in pajamas...

"Um... Hi!" Lloyd tried to smile as genuinely as he could. "I'm your new roommate. Lloyd Garmadon."

His eyes narrowed, lips pressing into a thin line as he stared at him. Lloyd almost thought he wasn't going to say anything when he grumbled. "Don't put your shit near mine, your beds over there." He pointed at the very obviously empty bed, eyes already drifting back to the work before him.

Lloyd wasn't sure how to react, just nodding and quickly grabbing his things. He left the bags at the end of the bed for the time being, only opening one to pull out his pictures. He set them up on his nightstand. One of a younger him, with ridiculous bowlcut hair, standing between his smiling Mother and Father, another of older him standing amongst his Uncle and friends. They were both family photos in his eyes.

"Okay." Lloyd looked up in surprise when the mystery roommate spoke again. He pushed himself up to a seated position, legs hanging off the edge of his mattress. "Two rules. One, when it's your turn to clean, you better fucking clean. Two, when I'm working or asleep, don't talk to me."

Lloyd blinked a few times, appalled. "Um."

The roommate didn't say a thing more, turning and closing textbooks and gathering papers. It was like Lloyd didn't even exist to him. He stood, walking around his bed to a desk set up at the end of it and dropped all he was carrying onto it. When he turned, he halted, seeing Lloyd still staring at him. "What?" It almost didn't even sound like a question, more like a dare. Like he thought Lloyd was going to start a fight.

"I, uh... Y-You didn't tell me your name?" Lloyd stuttered out sheepishly.

The roommate remained tense, a defensive air about him. He sharply stated. "Morro Storm."

Lloyd nodded, trying to smile at him again. "Well, it's nice to meet you Morro! I hope we can-"

"No."

"Wh-"

Morro held up a hand, eyebrows pointing sharply downwards as he glared at him. "I am not doing the buddy buddy, cutesy, friendly thing." He went back to his bed, sitting on the edge. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sleep." He fell backwards onto his mattress, tone suggesting he wouldn't be speaking anymore.

"Uh, okay, I'll just-"

He held up two fingers, "Rule number two. Shut it.”

Lloyd clamped his mouth shut, staring at him with complete confusion. Slowly he stood before quickly running from the room. He let go of a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding when the door closed behind him. Okay, that was a bad start, but maybe Morro was just tired… He did look like he'd been working a lot. Lloyd took another deep breath, and tried to stay optimistic.

He checked the time, before deciding to just try and find his friends. He pulled his phone from his coat pocket, opening the group chat they had created maybe a year or so prior.

**Go Ninja Go Chat**

**Lord Garmotron** : Hey guys, I'm ready to meet up whenever you are

 **Rock Hard** : me and zane are already at the cafe if u wanna meet us there 

**Rock Hard** : zane says hi btw 

**Sparky Sparky Boom Man** : Wait we're meeting NOW??????

 **Sparky Sparky Boom Man** : IM ON MY WAY GIVE ME A MIN

 **THE COOL DUDE** : gimme ten minutes to finish this class and I'll be there ;)

 **Lord Garmotron** : We'll wait for you there !

Lloyd shoved his phone back into his pocket. He knew where the café was, they'd taken him there before for get togethers. It was a nice little place, seated just outside of the college campus and thus a very popular place for students to visit during their time off, or to get jobs at.

The door opened with a soft jingle, and immediately Lloyd was met with the chatter of people and the beautiful smell of coffee. He spotted Cole and Zane easily, seated in the cushioned booth the group always sat in. He waved, smiling as he went over and slid in with them. “Hey guys!”

Zane smiled warmly, fingers folded around a cup of, if Lloyd had to guess, hot chocolate. “Greetings.”

Cole smiled as well, ruffling Lloyd's hair once he was close. “Hey kiddo.”

It was barely even five minutes before Jay came bursting through the door. He had papers and notebooks under one arm, his bag hanging off his shoulder haphazardly. He looked like he'd ran through a hurricane to get there. He flung his stuff onto the table and seats, before quickly saying “gotta get coffee be right back” and sprinting to the counter.

“Is Nya working today?” Lloyd asked.

Cole snorted, grinning. “Oh, how could you tell?” He responded sarcastically.

Lloyd snickered, leaning his cheek against his palm as he watched Nya come to the counter. Watching her and Jay chatting, smiling and laughing with each other made him happy. If anyone could win the cutest couple award, it'd be them.

As Jay was busy chit chatting away with his girlfriend, a familiar head of unkempt hair appeared in the door. Kai glanced at Jay and his sister, rolled his eyes, and strolled to their booth. “What's up?” He greeted, sliding in next to Lloyd.

“Considering you're the one coming from a class, I'm surprised you didn't come in like Jay did.” Cole said, glancing past Zane at the mess of papers Jay had left in his wake.

“You know him, he's always working on something.” Kai responded with a shrug. He glanced at Lloyd, before grinning and pulling him into a headlock. “How you doing pipsqueak, huh?”

Lloyd squealed, flailing as he attempted to escape. It was futile, Kai only furthering the ruffling of his hair. The brunette let him go only when he accidentally hit his knee against the bottom of the steel table and yelped. “Oh shit, sorry are you okay?”

Lloyd just shoved him, grumbling, “jerk,” before going to fix his hair with one hand, the other holding his knee gingerly.

Jay returned with a smitten smile on his face. You coulda sworn his eyes had turned to hearts with the expression he was making. “Nya’s so cool.” He stated once he was seated, holding a mug in his hands.

Lloyd giggled, “you say that every day.”

Kai interjected, “yeah except he's not wrong.”

“She _is_ cool.” Cole agreed, Zane nodding as he said it.

As if a switch had flipped and Jay had completely forgotten about his love, he snapped towards Lloyd, eyes wide and excited. “SO, how was your room? Do you have a roommate? Got your classes yet?”

Lloyd took a moment to sort through the sudden questions fired at him, before shrugging. “Uh, yeah, the rooms nice and I do have a roommate. He seems sorta rude though.”

Kai raised a brow. “Oh? What's his name?”

“Morro Storm?”

There was a collective gasp, all their eyes widening. "WHAT?!" Jay exclaimed, nearly launching himself over the table in his shock. "YOUR ROOMMATE IS _MORRO STORM?!_ ”

Lloyd shrunk back with all the eyes on him. "Um... yeah?"

"Holy shit, dude he's an asshole," Kai stated bluntly.

Lloyd grimaced, crossing his arms. "Yeah, I figured that out." He admitted, before glancing between them. "Do you guys know him or something?"

Cole scoffed, "there's nobody who _doesn't_ know him."

"He's built a very bad reputation for himself." Zane explained, looking at Lloyd with concerned eyes. "Nobody likes him nor wants to be near him. After what happened to his last roommate, I'm shocked they'd even let him room with someone else..."

Lloyd looked up sharply at that one, eyebrows drawing together. "What?"

All the boys around the table reeled back at the same time, grimacing, wincing, and glancing at eachother as if they were trying to decide if they should explain or not. Finally, Kai turned back to Lloyd. "They kinda... got into a fight." He started slowly. "Morro may or may not have, uh…” He paused, as if thinking. “...Broken his nose?"

" _What?!_ "

Jay scooted forward in his seat, reaching his hands across to Lloyd. "Hey, hey. It's alright. They were both hotheads, you're way nicer than the last guy. I'm sure he'll leave you alone."

"And if he doesn't, I'll kill him." Kai spat, eyes burning.

Zane quickly grabbed Kai's hand from across the table, sternly saying. "No one is killing anyone." He looked pointedly at the boys around him, before his gaze turned soft as he smiled at Lloyd. "Your amazingly calm and patient Lloyd, I'm sure you can handle him. You don't even have to talk to him if you don't want to. If any problems do arise, we can help you get moved and roomed with someone else."

Lloyd's frown remained, but he sighed and nodded. "Yeah... Yeah, I guess that works." He slid down in his seat, glaring up at nothing. He grumbled, "I thought they were supposed to room people together who'd get _along_. From the sound of it, he doesn't get along with anybody.”

"Maybe you'll be happily surprised?" Jay suggested, a small optimistic smile on his face.

"Mmm."

\----------------------------------

Morro woke up an hour or two later, sitting up with a groan. He glared blearily at the black smudges across his pillowcase, before realizing. “ _Shit._ ” He lifted a hand to his face, knowing his eyeshadow was likely horribly smeared across his skin now. “God fucking dammit.” Of course, he just had to forget he was wearing it and fall asleep.

He shoved himself up, stalking to the bathroom. He examined his face in the mirror, glaring at it as if it was to blame. He grabbed a rag and a bottle of makeup remover he kept stocked in the cupboards and began wiping away the horrible smudges around his eyes. “You take a goddamn class for this shit, you're supposed to be professional and what do you do?! You get it fucking everywhere.” He continued grumbling at himself throughout the entire process.

When he finished wiping off his face, he placed the makeup remover back with care, before promptly chucking the dirty rag into the laundry hamper with all the anger one could. He left the bathroom the same way he'd entered, uninterested in reapplying his eyeshadow now. He paused just outside it's door, staring at the bed that used to be empty. His eyes trailed to the unopened bags, before going to the framed pictures on the nightstand.

Curiosity won over and he approached them. He plopped onto the edge of Lloyd whatever-the-fucks bed, eyeing the photographs. One looked like a child and his parents. The other had Lloyd and a bunch of other young adults surrounding him, with one old man to the side. Morro picked that one up.

He recognized the guys he was with. Cole Brookstone, known well as one of the best members of the wrestling team but also loved dearly in the drama department. Kai Blacksmith, popular as hell with the girls and guys alike, the _dude_ for parties. Jay Walker, the winner of several prank wars that had occurred, known as the inventor of the student body. He'd helped create amazing light set ups for parties Morro had heard… He was dating a girl who was into mechanics too. Figures. He knew Zane too, Zane Julien, but didn't know what he did. The guy was a complete mystery to him other than he always saw him with Cole. He even recognized the old man, but… That was a story he didn't want to think about.

Morro frowned, setting the picture back where it had been. If his new roommate was in with these guys, he was in for trouble. He knew they knew him, and he knew very well they didn't trust him. Nobody trusted him. He couldn't blame them… After giving someone a broken nose, a concussion and a set of broken fingers, who _would_ trust him.

Granted, how bitter he acted didn't help that matter either.

He didn't care. He preferred it this way, everyone left him alone and he could work without distractions. That's what he tried telling himself anyways. Looking at the photo of Lloyd and all his friends made his chest ache. After a few more moments of staring, he pushed himself up and went back to his side of the room.

He'd have to head out to work soon. Maybe he'd get lucky and get out of there before his new roommate got back. Morro would much rather not deal with that guy trying to talk to him again. He tugged the dresser drawers open, taking note he'd have to either do the laundry soon or buy more clothes, he was running out of things to wear. He settled on a tanktop with a nobody metal band scrawled across the front and his favorite black, ripped jeans. Letting his hair down from it's ponytail, he brushed out the lengthy hair while letting his mind wander.

He was curious of his new roommate, but at the same time was counting down the days before he left. It wouldn't take any time before Lloyd started hearing the horror stories about him, many which were over exaggerated from rumors and gossip. He'd heard enough made up details to know there was enough to fill a room and still have some left over. His favorites were that he tried to kill the guy. They always claimed Morro had a knife when he attacked him.

He did not.

He had a rock. And he was trying to teach that fucker a lesson.

Morro sighed, tugging at the hair that laid over his shoulders. “Stop thinking about it.” He demanded his own reflection. “It's not going to go away.” He added, his own eyes burning into him as he stared. His eyes felt wrong to look at. He let go of his hair and grabbed his makeup instead.

Nothing made him more calm than sitting and doing makeup. Maybe one day he could actually get a job with this… A job far away from here, where nobody knew him and he could do his cosmetology work in peace.

Morro didn't realize how tightly he was holding the makeup container until he looked down to put the brush away. He grimaced, setting it down and instead letting his hands turn to tight fists against his legs. Tears were a wicked thing, teasing and playing on the edge of his vision. He blinked his eyes furiously, ready to be angry as all hell with himself if he let himself cry and ruin the makeup he _just_ finished.

He took a deep breath, pushing himself up and heading out. _Don't think about it. Don't think about it_. He grabbed the door handle, ripping it open angrily but freezing upon seeing his roommate before him. Lloyd looked petrified, wide eyes slowly raising to meet Morro's, his hand halfway up as if he had been about to grab the door handle. Morro had to admit, it was interesting getting a good look at him.

He was naturally beautiful, blonde hair swept across his forehead, eyes and jaw shaped pleasingly, and his eyes a deep, vibrant green. It made Morro feel sick to look at him. Why was everyone so much more conventionally attractive than he was?? He must have made an expression that matched his thoughts because Lloyd shrunk back. Fear flashed in his eyes.

Ah. So he'd heard about his previous roommate then.

“I'm going out.” He stated, hoping that'd keep Lloyd from saying anything. He shoved past him, heading down the hall.

“I hope you have fun!”

Morro froze midstep. He glanced over his shoulder slowly, eyes wide. Lloyd already had disappeared into the room but there was no mistaking what he said. Have… fun? Morro was far from understanding why he'd say anything like that to him, but chose to shove the thoughts away and focus on walking.

It didn't mean anything. Lloyd Garmadon was just too nice for his own good.


	2. Chapter 2

Lloyd adjusted to college life amazingly quickly. He and Morro tiptoed around each other, only speaking to one another when necessary, the only other times being Lloyd's well wishes whenever he headed out. Morro didn't understand it and he didn't want to.

Lloyd had managed a schedule that gave him plenty of time to spend with his friends and still go to their club. His uncle, Wu, ran it for them. They were learning martial arts, or in the very least they were _supposed_ to be learning it. Wu knew very well they weren't always good students, though the reason he kept the club was the father-like love he'd formed for them. Not to mention, they did have fun learning how to fight, they just were horrid at obeying him half the time.

Currently, the group had been dragged into attending one of the wrestling competitions. Jay and Kai were shrieking like banshees, having made a stupid, ridiculous “ **GO COLE BROOKSTONE** ” sign that hung between their arms. Zane was rather loud himself, yelling with his hands cupped around his mouth in support. Lloyd did his best to shout for Cole as well, though he could only feel that his voice was drowned out by the roar of the crowd.

Lloyd couldn't even really see what was happening honestly. It had gotten to the final rounds from his understanding, everyone was standing at this point, and Lloyd simply had to curse his short genes. Jay was short too, but he'd chosen to stand precariously on the edge of one of the seats to continue his cheer.

Suddenly an even louder string of cheers erupted, and from the sound of it, Cole had won. Zane hopped from his seat and disappeared off in the direction of the competitors. Lloyd quickly scrambled to the edge where Zane had been, leaning over to see as best he could past the crowd. Zane had somehow moved at the speed of light and was the first to body slam into Cole with a giant hug. Many other wrestlers and audience members followed, shouting congratulations.

Kai snickered, “man that's nasty.” He dropped the sign, leaving Jay to carry it alone, completely ignoring the redheads complaints. “He's probably covered in sweat.”

“Has Zane ever acted like he cared about that?” Lloyd smiled as he said it. Sure he said Jay and Nya were the cutest couple, but Cole and Zane might be a very close second.

Jay shoved past them, grinning. “We gotta show him our sign, c’mon, c’mon-” his voice was drowned out as he sprinted away from them.

Lloyd laughed, and followed at a much slower pace, with Kai at his side. “We should come to these things more often.” Kai commented. “Did you see when he slammed the other guy down? Holy hell.”

Lloyd shook his head. “I couldn't see a thing.”

Kai laughed, messing up Lloyd's hair once again. “Shorty.”

Lloyd flailed his arms wildly, shoving Kai away. “Jerk!”

It quickly turned into a playful shoving match, both laughing and trying to dodge the others hands. When they reached the others, Lloyd smiled as he saw Jay extremely excitedly showing off his poster. He'd put a ridiculous amount of glitter onto it, scribbles along the sides that were meant to be lightning bolts apparently. Kai had added fire across the bottom for “aesthetic”, as he put it.

Cole was still catching his breath, but smiling brightly. Lloyd took notice of Zane's fingers threaded through his. “It's great Jay, I love it.”

“What d’ya say? Dinner out after you get changed?” Kai suggested. “I can drive.”

Cole glanced at the blonde stuck to his arm. “Uh actually,” he lifted their intertwined fingers. “Date night.”

“Awww, cutieeeesss.” Jay cooed, smirking.

Zane laughed softly, “thank you Jay.”

“I'll meet you outside, kay?” Cole said, head turned to Zane. When he nodded, Cole gave him a quick cheek kiss before running off.

The three waited with Zane outside, chatting about nothing in particular until a freshly showered and changed Cole came running out. He took Zane's hand again, the two giving their farewells before heading out. Lloyd waved, Jay shouting bye as they left.

“Ten bucks they're gonna bang.” Kai stated out of nowhere once they were gone.

“KAI OH MY GOD.” Jay yelled, whipping to face him with wide eyes. “HOW WOULD YOU EVEN KNOW?”

“I'd ask.” Kai shrugged.

“Cole would _murder you_.” Lloyd told him, completely serious.

“I cannot believe you, god.” Jay muttered, staring at Kai with a mix of disbelief and annoyance.

Kai shrugged again, grinning. “Bets still a bet. Can't lose if you can't prove me wrong.” He pulled his car keys from his pocket, tossing them lightly. “Where do you guys wanna go?”

“Hell, so I can hand deliver you to Satan.”

“Wow, thanks Jay.”

Lloyd rolled his eyes. “Let's just go, come on.” He lightly shoved both of them in the direction of Kai's car

\----------------------------------

Lloyd had come home later than usual, but Morro hadn't cared in the slightest. He was probably with his friends all afternoon if Morro had to take a wild guess. He just did his best to ignore him, burying himself into reading his book, reading glasses resting carefully on the bridge of his nose.

Lloyd was simply on his phone, nothing better to do until he decided to sleep. He was growing bored despite this, running out of new posts to scroll through. He sighed, dropping his head into his pillow, clicking his phone off. He rolled to his side, pursing his lips slightly as he tried to think of something he could do. He ended up staring at Morro without realizing it, fascinated by the fact he wore glasses to read.

Morro was weird. Lloyd didn't really know what to think of him. Sometimes he seemed so at peace, serene in a way, like right then as he sat against the wall, book resting against his knees. But then other times, he was like a beast, full of anger and defensive as all hell. You couldn't even look at him wrong when he was like that or he took it as an insult.

Lloyd frowned a bit, eyebrows slowly drawing together. He wondered what made Morro like this. He'd learned from all the years in his life, nobody acted like Morro did without reason. He'd seen it in his family, in his friends. He'd seen it when his Father… His eyes trailed to the picture of a young Lloyd with his parents. His throat felt tight and he quickly turned his gaze back to Morro without finishing the thought.

Without thinking, the question spilled from his lips. “Why are you so angry all the time?”

Morro glanced at him, peering over the edge of his glasses with narrowed eyes. “What?”

Lloyd tensed, mentally banging his head into the wall. Why would he ask that? Who just _says_ things like that?! “I, uh-”

“Everyone has their demons.”

Lloyd perked, surprised he said anything more. Morro had turned his eyes back to his book, but his expression looked tense now, lips pressing tightly together. Lloyd pushed himself up, crisscrossing his legs on the mattress. “What do you mean?”

Morro's grip on his book visibly tightened. A heavy silence fell between them, Lloyd didn't even dare breath while waiting for a response. “...You know what I mean.” The way he sounded when he answered was so broken, so hollow, that Lloyd could almost feel his heart break.

Before he could say a thing though, Morro slammed his book shut. “You have morning classes tomorrow, you should sleep.” His tone implied he was asking Lloyd to stop talking.

Lloyd didn't push, frowning and nodding slowly. “Yeah.” They didn't speak again that night, but Lloyd couldn't help but think about what he'd said. Even though he hadn't said much, Morro actually opened up to him slightly, and what little he did let out concerned him. Lloyd wanted to help, desperately wanted to do anything to fix whatever was wrong, but how could he? They weren't even friends. Barely more than acquaintances.

His eyes trailed to the pictures on his nightstand, fingers outstretching until he gently ran them over the picture of his parents. His frown only deepened.

Everyone has their demons.

\----------------------------------

“How'd you know I have morning classes?” Lloyd asked his half asleep roommate the next morning.

Morro grumbled through the mess of hair across his face. “I know everything. You start picking up on shit when you have nothing better to do.”

Lloyd made a small noise of acknowledgement, busy making sure he had all his things. He glanced over his shoulder at Morro. “So you just figure out things about other people because you're bored?”

Morro gave a soft hum in response, too tired to form words. “Don't we have a rule about not talking to me when I'm sleeping?” He grumbled.

“Yeah, but you're not actually gonna do anything to me.”

Morro wished he could say something to that. _What about my last roommate? What about what I did to him?_ His voice died in his throat, and instead he responded with an unintelligible grumble.

Lloyd smiled at that, seeming almost smug. “I'll see you later!” Lloyd called before disappearing out the door.

Morro lifted his head slightly to squint at the door as it closed. He didn't understand that guy. He didn't want to. At least that's what he kept telling himself. He rolled over and went back to sleep.

\----------------------------------

_“GET OFF OF ME!”_

_Nobody's coming to help you._

_Nobody is going to save you._

_A breath of fresh air, scrambling as he jumped out a window into the grass, running until his muscles burned._

_Suddenly his face met the earth, a weight on his back._

_His own screams echoed out into the night._

_Nobody was going to save him._

\----------------------------------

Morro woke with a start, eyes wide and breathing hard. He took a moment to take in his surroundings, before recognizing his dorm room. Slowly he relaxed back into the mattress, trying to even out his breathing. He felt empty, his breath hitching. He brought his hands to his face and a soft sob left his lips.

He rolled onto his side, pulling the pillow to his chest and curling into a ball around it. _Don't think about it. Don't think about it. **Don't think about it.** _

Like most of his moments of tears, it was short lived and the emotions were quickly shoved back down. He threw himself onto his feet, itching to get out. Go anywhere that wasn't _this_ room. He paused, eyes stuck on the window on the wall halfway between the beds. 

He remembered jumping out of it.

He hated they were on the ground floor, if only they had been higher up, maybe when he jumped he…

He shook his head. Makeup, he needed makeup.

He needed to not think about it.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hey Uncle Wu?” Lloyd was laying on the floor at his Uncle's home, waiting for the others to show up for a club meeting. “How do you help people who push everyone away?”

The old man hummed softly, standing in the kitchen making tea. “That's not an easy question to answer. Is there someone you wish to help?”

Lloyd nodded, eyes concentrating on the ceiling. “Mhm. I just don't know how.” He rolled onto his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows to give Wu a serious look. “I mean, he sorta opened up to me last night. He told me ‘everyone has their demons’ when I asked him why he acts the way he does.” Lloyd looked down at the carpet beneath him. “He sounded so sad…”

Wu had been contemplating a response when yelling interrupted his thoughts. Kai came streaking into the house, shrieking unintelligibly, a fuming Cole close behind him. “BLACKSMITH I WILL MURDER YOU!”

Wu shouted, “Hey, shoes off inside!”

Cole and Kai didn't hear him, Cole cornering him and a wrestling match broke out. Lloyd groaned, placing his face in his hands. Kai actually did it, didn't he? He actually went and asked Cole if he and Zane banged. He peeked past his fingers at them, sighing. There was no way Kai was going to win against a _wrestler_ in a _wrestling match_.

Jay and Zane followed them in, a few moments behind them. They'd actually removed their shoes like Wu told the boys to do. Zane ran to the fighting boys, trying to split them apart as best he could. Jay stayed near Lloyd, facial expression saying it all.

“How badly did he say it?” Lloyd asked the redhead from the floor.

Jay grimaced, “uh. He asked if they had 'fucked’ and if it was 'good’. And when Cole got pissed, he kept going on about it anyways?” He sighed, running a hand over his face. “For such a self-proclaimed smooth talker, his mouth sure does seem to get him in trouble.”

Lloyd nodded in agreement, pushing himself up to a seated position. He glanced over as his Uncle walked past him, carrying what looked like a glass of water alongside his tea. He reached the quarreling boys, and simply dunked it over their heads.

They were split apart in seconds, gasping.

“Shoes.” Wu grumbled sternly, pointing in the direction of the door. “Off.”

The two shared equally shocked expressions, while Jay tried to cover his giggles. Slowly, they turned and obediently shuffled back to the door. They returned shoeless, overcoming their shock and instead it was replaced with annoyance. “Mister Wu, I-”

Wu cut them off. “I don't want to hear it. Brothers do not fight their brothers.”

“He was asking about personal stuff between me and Zane!” Cole snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Kai.

“It was for a bet! I was just joking anyways-”

“Just joking my ass.” Cole snarled.

“ _You're_ the one who decided to get all uppity about it!” Kai yelled in response.

“You were making Zane uncomfortable you prick!” Cole spat through clenched teeth.

Zane attempted to step forward. “Cole, it's okay, he didn't mean anything by it-”

“He doesn't need to know about _our_ sex life!” Cole threw his hands up as he said it.

“So you're saying you _do_ have one?” Kai asked with a teasing grin.

“Oh my fucking god-” Jay started.

Jay didn't get to finish, cut off as Cole decked Kai in the face. Everything exploded into chaos. Lloyd had rushed in with Jay, pushing back Cole before he could jump on Kai, Zane had covered his mouth in shock, Cole was yelling every possible insult and swear at Kai, and Kai was on the floor. Lloyd and Jay, being the short ones, struggled against Cole's bulky stature, both trying to say anything they could to calm him down, but drowning each other out in the process.

“ENOUGH.” Wu's voice cracked through the air like a whip, freezing everyone. “Obviously we need to all meditate and think about our actions.” He lifted his cane, pointing it at them accusingly. “You do not want to push away those close to because of poor choice of words. Nor do you want to push them away due to a short temper.” He tapped his cane back against the floor. “All of you, sit.”

They obeyed without a word, tense and uneasy after what just occurred. 

“Now, get yourselves comfortable, close your eyes, and breathe.” He commanded. They did as told. “Think about what just happened, and how you all could have dealt with it better. Then, let your thoughts go and calm yourself. Find peace.” They could hear him walking away. “This will last ten minutes.”

Usually at least one of them would complain at the length of time, but for now, none did. Not even a single annoyed noise left any of them. It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. Lloyd inhaled deeply, and tried to do as Wu told him to.

\----------------------------------

Morro liked his job. The woman he worked for didn't care about his personal life, she never pried. If he didn't want to talk, she accepted it and just let him work. She was an older woman, wrinkles forming around her eyes, and her hair turning gray. She ran a little tea shop. Morro typically came in after hours and cleaned the place, as he wouldn't, not even in a million years, ever work during the day with _people._

He preferred only being around Mystake.

She paid him enough for him to eat, that's all he really cared about, and she knew it too. That's what he really loved about her. She knew he could give less than two shits about tea or cleaning, all he wanted was the pay.

She paid fairly well too, and usually by the time he was back, Lloyd would have fallen asleep. Every time he went to work, he just hoped he'd come home to the fast asleep blonde. That meant no talking. No questions. No _prying_.

No weird feelings and confusion when the guy continued to be kind to him.

Morro wasn't so lucky that night. He came home to find Lloyd still wide awake, staring down at his phone with a deeply concerned expression. He wasn't even lying down, or in pajamas for that matter. He seemed distressed to say the least.

Morro felt compelled to say something, ask what was wrong, if only to somewhat repay the kindness Lloyd continually showed him.

“The hell's wrong with you?”

Okay. That came out way ruder than he intended.

Lloyd perked, looking shocked to see Morro there. “Oh, uh…” His shock faded to be replaced with his previous frown. Morro decided he hated seeing Lloyd frowning. “It's nothing.”

Morro raised a brow at him, but didn't try pushing. Usually that meant they didn't want to talk when someone said that, so he saw no reason to keep trying. He simply walked past him and started putting his stuff away.

\----------------------------------

**Go Ninja Go Chat**

**Lord Garmotron** : Is anyone here?

 **Sparky Sparky Boom Man** : Hey Lloyd

 **Lord Garmotron** : Hi

 **Lord Garmotron** : Where is everyone else???

 **Sparky Sparky Boom Man** : I think Cole and Kai are refusing to talk to eachother 

**Lord Garmotron** : ugh, seriously?

 **Sparky Sparky Boom Man** : Yeah;;;;

 **Lord Garmotron** :What about Zane?

 **Sparky Sparky Boom Man** : I think he's mad at them both right now;;;;;

 **Lord Garmotron** : damn…

 **Sparky Sparky Boom Man** : Yeah…

\----------------------------------

“My friends are fighting.” Lloyd finally said, when Morro came back from changing into his sleep attire in the bathroom.

Morro was, of course, surprised he even said anything. “Oh.”

“They yelled at each other, one of them punched the other and now they won't talk to each other.” Lloyd explained, staring at the floor from where he sat on his bed. “I don't know what to do.”

“It's not your problem, let them figure their own shit out.” Morro crossed his arms, frowning down at him as he said it.

Lloyd twisted his hands in his lap. “Yeah but… but they're still my _friends_.” He ran a hand through his hair, obviously stressing out. “I feel like I need to do _something_ , but i just have no idea what I can do! I just… I want to help, I don't know-”

“Hey, slow down.” Morro didn't mean for his words to come out so sharp, but they did. “Listen. Everyone has their own bullshit to deal with. You can do your best to help if you want to, but at the end of the day it doesn't involve _you_ and it's not _your_ fault.” He lifted his hands with a slight shrug. “So stop stressing out.”

“But-”

“No.” Morro held up one finger in a shushing motion, giving Lloyd a stern look. “Shut up. No more worrying about it, focus on you right now.”

Lloyd opened his mouth, closed it, then just looked back down at his hands. Morro huffed, plopping back onto his bed, staring at Lloyd as he waited for some sort of response. He wasn't that good at giving advice or helping people, but he at least tried. He hoped he didn't make anything worse.

“Thanks Morro.”

Oh.

_Oh._

Morro cursed at himself. So much for no weird feelings when Lloyd kept being kind to him. He stared at the blonde with wide eyes, and felt his breath catch in his throat when Lloyd lifted his gaze to look at him.

“Just, thanks.”

He didn't say anything else, lying down and rolling away so his back was to his roommate. Morro felt stunned. It was only one word but he felt petrified by it.

_Thanks._

Quickly he threw himself into his bed, scrambling under the covers and turning his back to Lloyd. He stared at the wall for a good several minutes before finally he forced out the words, “You're welcome.” He didn't know if Lloyd heard him, but a part of him hoped he did.

\----------------------------------

_  
“Are you gonna cry again? Pff, pathetic.”_

_His eyes stung. His body ached. He felt like everything within him had been ripped violently from his being._

_“Don't touch me.”_

_“You're not going to do anything about it.”_

_He was right._

_He didn't do a thing.  
_

\----------------------------------

Morro woke, startled once again by his dreams. He was able to pull himself together better this time, no tears overtaking him. He couldn't cry when Lloyd was in the bed so near to him. Slowly he sat up, staring at his own lap. He felt dirty. He needed to do something. He needed to feel _clean._

He pushed himself up, quietly sneaking past Lloyd's bed and into their bathroom. As soon as the door was safely locked behind him, he took a shuddering breath. _Clean, he needed to be clean_. He turned on the shower without thinking much, just hoping it would be quiet enough to not wake his roommate. The last thing he wanted was “are you okay” questions from him.

When he got in, he turned the water so hot it burned, searing his skin with every drop that hit him. It was distracting that way. Kept him from thinking about what he wished he could erase from his mind. He took a rag, and ended up scrubbing away at his own body until he felt raw. Raw enough that the water hurt even worse when it hit him.

It was good this way. He didn't have to think, all he had to do was feel. He ended up sliding down the wall of the shower until he was sitting on it's floor. Morro pulled his knees to his chest, letting his head hang so his forehead rested on them. 

He stayed like that until the water turned cold.


	4. Chapter 4

Morro had one of his grouchy days after that night. He yelled at Lloyd when he attempted to say good morning, so the blonde just ran for it and gave him his space. He didn't know what happened to the guy trying to give him advice the previous night, but if Morro was pissed off it was better to just leave.

He tried texting the group chat, but Jay was the only one who responded. They ended up planning to go meet up with Nya, considering she had been too busy to spend time with any of them until recently. Lloyd tried privately messaging the other three, but only Zane replied, and he just told him he didn't feel very well and would rather stay in. Lloyd was worried about them all.

He met Jay at the café, the usual meeting place. The booth felt too empty with the other three missing. It was at least a little better when Nya showed up, smile on her face.

“Hey guys.” She smiled at them from the end of the table, not sitting since they were planning to leave anyway. She took one look at their glum expressions and sighed, placing her hands on her hips. “Okay, I see a lot of sad faces going on here. We're fixing that.” She beckoned for them to follow her. “I know where we're going, come on.”

The boys shared a look, but followed. Jay got excited when he found out they were taking Nya’s car. She had one of those really nice cars, where the roofs could come down and you could drive with the wind in your hair. She only let the boys ride in it during special occasions. So, either this _was_ a special occasion or she trusted her boyfriend and Lloyd more than the others.

Lloyd had to appreciate Nya’s existence. She was so cool. Cool and strong and nice. She'd helped him a lot during his time knowing her. Where the other boys were bad at advice or helping out, she was a master. She was beautiful too, Jay was super lucky. 

Lloyd hoped if he ever started dating, he had someone who loved him as much as Jay and Nya loved each other.

Nya let Jay call shotgun, Lloyd laughing as he excitedly hopped onto the seat. Lloyd crawled into the back, looking around at the car around him. He hadn't been in this thing for awhile. It was amazing how clean she kept it.

“Can we drive with the roof down??” Jay asked excitedly, basically bouncing in his seat.

She shrugged, “Don't see why not, it's a nice day after all.”

Soon enough they were off, Nya turning on her music as they went. Lloyd and Jay couldn't give any objections, Nya's car meant she gets to play her music. Neither of them would complain though, they both loved her music choices. It ranged from upbeat love songs, to harsh, heavy rock.

Lloyd thought her music taste summarized her personality extremely well.

She must have been taking them to the main city, as they left town and headed onto the freeway. Jay shrieked in delight when they sped up, and even Lloyd couldn't help but laugh, throwing his hands up. Nya was probably going way faster than was legal, but he didn't care. Lloyd trusted Nya, she could pull stunts like this and nobody would die. It was Kai doing these sorts of things that concerned him.

All three ended up yelling the lyrics to songs as they drove. Lloyd already felt better. Nya was so good at cheering people up, and she hadn't even done much. She was just letting them ride in her car and already they were happier.

Maybe Morro was right with what he'd said… Lloyd needed to stop worrying so much about problems that weren't his and just relax.

Nya ended up taking them to the mall in the main city. Jay was excited beyond belief, chattering about all the stores they needed to visit. Lloyd's only requests were they needed to visit the pet store and they _needed_ to visit the candy store.

Once inside, Nya instilled a buddy system where she decided the boys had to hold her hands while walking between stores. “Both of you will bolt as soon as you see something you want and you know it.” She explained when they tried to resist it. “I am not calling mall security to try and find my man children because they ran when they saw something shiny.”

Lloyd couldn't stop laughing at Jay's expression when she called them her “man children”. He just smiled and went along with what she said. Nya was the boss after all. Jay didn't seem like he minded too much either, all complaints coming to a halt as he threaded his fingers through hers. “Okay, the pet stores closest.” Nya announced, tugging the boys along with her in it's direction.

Lloyd had a feeling it was going to be a nice day.

\----------------------------------

Morro had no idea where Lloyd had gone for the day. He kinda ran as soon as Morro snapped at him that morning. He didn't blame him. Morro was just having one of _those_ days. One of those angry, disgusting, pitiful, emotional days.

Too bad he had classes today.

For now, he sat in the schools own dining area. It was too early to call it eating lunch, but too late to call it a breakfast, but whatever it was, he at least attempted eating. He had his hair tied back and glasses resting on his nose as he read. People don't bother you if you're reading he found.

He noticed when Cole Brookstone came in. He didn't even get food, he went to a table tucked away in the corner, away from everyone else, and promptly slumped over onto the table. When he entered his expression looked like a mix of pissed off and sad. That was something Morro knew the feeling of far too well. He wondered if the guy hadn't slept well last night or something, looking like he was attempting to rest. Why he didn't do so in his own dorm was lost on Morro.

Morro tried to think of who he was roomed with… He was almost positive the guy was roomed with his boyfriend, lucky piece of shit… Morro didn't see how that'd cause any problems between the two… Oh. Unless they're the ones who got into a fight like Lloyd had mentioned.

Morro frowned slightly, that didn't make sense. Those two were way too happy together to just fight out of nowhere.

He sighed, checking the time. He should head out. This wasn't his issue to get involved with anyways. He gathered his bag and book, taking his glasses off to put them away. He didn't glance at Cole even once more as he strode out.

\----------------------------------

“My brother got himself into a big mess, didn't he?”

Lloyd looked at Nya when she stated it, before sighing. “You could say that again.”

They'd gone to a cute, little ice cream shop, Lloyd and Nya sitting at a table, ice creams in hand, waiting for Jay to make up his mind. Nya had gotten strawberry, Lloyd had gotten chocolate chip mint. Nya was kind enough to pay for him, considering he had no money with him.

“Try not to worry too much about them. They've had worse fights in the past and still made up after them.” Nya reassured Lloyd with a smile.

“Worse fights?” Lloyd asked in-between licks of his ice cream.

She nodded, “mmmmhm.” She smiled, as if remembering it fondly. “Before Cole got with Zane, he had this weird sorta crush on me. Jay and him got into a fight over that one. Ended up clawing poor Cole across the face with his nails on accident during a tussle.” She shook her head. “They made up later but it was wild.”

“I thought Cole didn't like girls?”

Nya shrugged. “It was when he was still figuring himself out I think.” She glanced towards Jay when he made a loud declaration that he'd made his decision. “Kai and Jay have fought before too.”

Lloyd rolled his eyes. “Yeah but they're always fighting.”

Nya giggled. “Yeah true.” She leaned across the table slightly, giving him a knowing look. “See what I mean though? These guys always make up with each other in the end. So don't worry too much about it.” She winked at him, smiling as she sat back.

Lloyd grinned in return, glancing up as Jay came back with pistachio ice cream in hand. “Okay, new ice cream flavor of the day.” He announced, holding it up. “Pistachio!”

“If you don't like it, I'm not buying you another one.” Nya stated.

Jay fake pouted at her. “Not even if I say pretty please~?”

She smirked, shaking her head. “Nope.”

Lloyd giggled, smiling at their exchange. He'd been right, this was a good day.

\----------------------------------

Morro had been in the middle of a very complex eye makeup late in the afternoon when Lloyd returned. He was grinning like he'd just heard the best news in the world. He looked stupid but… It was better than his frown yesterday. “What’s up with that smile?”

“I just had a really good da- WOAH.” Lloyd's eyes widened when he looked at Morro, mouth falling open in shock. “Holy cow, how'd you do _that_?!”

Morro glanced at his mirror, eyeing his makeup in the reflection. “Um, I major in cosmetology?”

Lloyd continued to gawk at him. “Woah… That's so cool.”

Morro could feel his face flush. Cool? Really?? Since when was makeup _cool_?! “It's not really but… thanks I guess.” He muttered.

Lloyd plopped down next to Morro on his bed, causing Morro to tense up slightly. “Can you do it to me?”

Morro didn't expect that, staring at Lloyd for a moment. “...Really?”

Lloyd nodded, grinning widely. “It looks really cool!! Look at how you put the different colors together on yourself, that's so neat!”

Morro looked at his reflection again. He guessed it would be impressive to someone who didn't know anything about it. There was dark, winged eyeliner lining his eyes, then a deep green over his lids, with purple brushed along the outer edges to finish it off. Maybe he should be a little more impressed with himself… He looked back at Lloyd. “You really want me to do something like this,” he pointed at his eyes, “to you?”

Lloyd nodded enthusiastically, eyes shining.

Morro pressed his lips together, thinking a moment before getting up. Lloyd watched curiously as he went to his bags, pulling out what looked like a big container. When he slid it open though, Lloyd could see it was a case full of every eyeshadow color imaginable. “Alright, sit still and I will, but it's gonna be different colors than mine.”

“Okay!”

Morro pulled a hairband off his wrist, pulling his hair back into probably the messiest bun imaginable. He pulled out eyeliner first, “close your eyes”, and set to work. Lloyd did fairly well at listening to him and sitting still while he applied everything. He jumped a little bit at the eyeliner the first time, but afterwards was just fine.

Lloyd kept asking if he could see every time he pulled his hand away. Morro kept telling him to wait, or that he wasn't done yet. He couldn't decide if Lloyd had no patience, or if he was just extremely excited. Either way, he needed him to wait just a bit more.

Morro had chosen sunset colors, soft oranges and reds… His logic was that Lloyd acted like a ray of sunshine, but that sounded sappy as all hell, he wasn't gonna admit that out loud. When he finished, he sat back a moment to examine his work, before finally handing his mirror to Lloyd. “There you go.”

Lloyd stared into the mirror in awe, eyes wide. He turned his head this way and that, slowly closing one eye at a time so he could see how it looked. “Morro, holy crap.” He breathed out. “You're so good at this.”

Morro blushed under the praise, glancing away. “I didn't even do that much… It's just eyeliner and eyeshadow.”

“But look at the _colorsssss_.” Lloyd bit his lower lip, trying to conceal his over excited grin. “Can you do this to me like, every day?”

Morro scoffed, “only if you pay me.”

Lloyd giggled, setting the mirror down. “Look at us. We're super pretty.”

Morro couldn't handle looking him in the face, mostly because he was right. He was pretty. Prettier than before. _Ugh_. Fuck Lloyd and fuck his stupid pretty face. “Sure.” He wasn't so positive he counted as pretty himself though.

“Do you think we could do entire face makeups sometime?” Lloyd asked. “I mean… Only if you want to!”

Morro glanced at him. He was silent a few seconds before laughing softly and shaking his head. “I don't understand you at all...”

Lloyd tilted his head. “What?”

Morro looked him in the face, a small, bewildered smile remaining. “You're so fucking _weird_. You're like, the only guy I've met who doesn't think me liking makeup is weird, let alone think it's _cool_.”

Lloyd leaned forward slightly, eyes shining with honesty. “But it is cool!!”

Morro slowly sighed, “alright. Alright fine. We can do full face makeups sometime.”

Lloyd squealed, hugging Morro without hesitation, which immediately made Morro freeze up. He made an unintelligible noise akin to a shriek, grabbing Lloyd by his shoulders harshly and shoving him away. He was breathing hard, heart hammering due to his sudden panic and his eyes were wide. When Lloyd's shocked, concerned facial expression registered in his mind, he realized he was still gripping his shoulders and slowly let go. “Don't… D-Don't touch me without asking.” He stammered out, looking down rather than into Lloyd's eyes.

“Oh… Okay.” Lloyd responded slowly. “I'm sorry Morro, I didn't mean to-”

“Don't.” Morro spat sharply. “Don't say sorry, just don't fucking do it again.”

Lloyd nodded quickly, mouth shut tightly. He didn't know what made Morro react like that, but it only made his concern grow for him. Something definitely happened to him to make him like this, of that Lloyd was sure.

Morro knew Lloyd was figuring it out too. He could tell by how he looked at him every time they made eye contact after that night. It made his chest ache and his anxiety devoured him from the inside out.  
_  
You can see it can't you?_

_The filth that covers me._

_I'm drowning in it…_

_Help me…_


	5. Chapter 5

Morro began to slowly open up to Lloyd, at least a bit. They were able to talk to each other more freely now. Morro was less tense, less angry and and didn't snap so much. He still had his grouchy moments, but there was an unspoken understanding between them that sometimes he just needed his space. Lloyd asked a lot of questions, mostly about cosmetology now that Morro had revealed to him it was his major.

“Okay so I looked up cosmetology-”

“Oh god.”

“It says it's also involving hair, so can you do hair?”

“Yeah.”

“REALLY? What about nails? Is that something you can do?”

“Kinda.”

“THAT'S AMAZING!”

Morro didn't get why he thought it was so exciting, but he was happy _someone_ thought it was cool… He'd never say that though. There was _a lot_ Morro wouldn't admit. He wouldn't admit he enjoyed spending time with Lloyd. He'd never say he liked how Lloyd always said good morning, even when he wasn't fully awake. He wouldn't say he liked Lloyd always telling him if he was heading out now.

Morro wouldn't ever, _ever_ admit he liked any of it.

He wouldn't admit he liked having a friend.

“Hey, saw those nerds you call friends hanging out again, did they make up or something?” Morro asked over the edge of his book. They were lounging around their dorm after lunch, neither having much of anything to do.

Lloyd nodded from where he lay, upside down on his bed. “Yeah. It was really ridiculous though.” He rolled to his side, grinning at Morro. “Kai did like, a really over dramatic apology in public.”

“At the café?”

“Yup.” Lloyd giggled. “He kinda made an ass of himself for Cole and Zane and they forgave him.” He sighed. “You were right. I shouldn't have worried so much… Idunno really what I could have done anyways.”

“This is the world trying to tell you to listen to me when I tell you shit.”

Lloyd pushed himself up, bowing dramatically. “Oh! Teach me the ways of the world Mister Storm~!”

Morro rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless.

\----------------------------------

“Well somebody seems happy.” Nya commented, chin resting in her hands.

Lloyd had gone to meet up at the café with his friends since they'd just made up with each other. Nya and Jay were the first there, Nya having just gotten off work. Lloyd had joined them with a huge smile on his face.

“I have a new friend!” Lloyd announced to them, joy very brightly lighting his features.

Jay leaned across the table, eyes wide with curiosity. “Oh?! Who is it?”

“Morro!”

Jay immediately reeled back, very similarly to the first time Lloyd mentioned Morro's name at this table. “What?!”

Lloyd nodded, reaffirming what he'd just said. “Me and Morro are friends! He's pretty chill when you get him to open up a bit.” He shrugged like there was nothing to it. “He's kinda grouchy sometimes but that's okay.”

Nya frowned slightly, glancing at Jay. “He means Storm right?”

Jay nodded, before lifting his hands as he said. “Okay, Lloyd I have no place judging your choice of friends but _really_?!”

“What's wrong with me liking him?” Lloyd asked, pouting slightly.

“Lloyd, he gave someone a concussion.” Nya stated bluntly, hands falling to rest on top of each other as she gave him a concerned stare.

Lloyd stared at her, perplexed a moment, before an accusing gaze was turned towards Jay. “You guys said he broke someone's nose! Not give them a _concussion_.”

Jay winced, hands falling. “I, uh… We didn't want to scare you?”

Nya spun on Jay this time. “ _Wait_ , you didn't _tell him_?”

Jay shrunk back even further, grimacing. “Ahhh sorry! In my defense, Kai explained it, not me.”

“Okay what the heck did he actually _do_ then?!” Lloyd asked, frowning angrily across the table at them.

“He beat his previous roommate with a damn rock is what he did!” Nya snapped, throwing her hands up. “He broke his nose, broke his fingers and gave him a concussion ontop of god knows how many cuts and bruises!” She looked at Jay again, hands slapping back onto the table. “Why the _hell_ didn't you tell him, he’s _living_ with that psychopath!”

Lloyd immediately snapped, “he's not a psychopath!”

“He _shouldn't_ even be here still, you know that guy he attacked got hospitalized right?” Nya took a deep breath, sighing before her angry expression was replaced with a gentle, worried one. “I don't want him to hurt you Lloyd. That's what I'm worried about.”

“He's not going to hurt me!”

“How do you _know_ that?”

Lloyd opened his mouth, closed it, then just looked at them both for a moment. Finally, he huffed and pushed himself out of his seat. “I'm gonna go walk.” He passed by the others coming in, but didn't say anything when they attempted to greet him.

Kai frowned, approaching their table. “Lloyd looked pissed off, what happened?”

“Nya called his roommate a psychopath right after he declared they were friends now.” Jay blurted.

“Hey! Don't make me sound like the bad guy!”

“I'm just saying the truth!”

\----------------------------------

Lloyd was sitting on a bench in a park just across the street from the café. He was thinking, good and hard about his roommate. _His new friend_. Morro wasn't crazy. He didn't seem like he was crazy or psychotic or any of the things people called him. He was a lot of things, but crazy wasn't one of them. He was grouchy, sure, but, again, he wasn't only that.

Morro seemed sad, his eyes lifeless so often it was scary. He didn't like being touched without being asked. He got scared like anyone else. He laughed and smiled like anyone else. Morro liked makeup and putting his hair up and reading in bed. He seemed like a normal, yet hurting, person to Lloyd.

He couldn't even imagine Morro doing what they say he did.

If he did do it, he had to have a reason, right?

Lloyd frowned, putting his hands over his face, groaning in frustration. He hated this. He hated everything. He hated feeling _mad_. He just wanted everything to be easy and everyone to be happy. He remembered his Uncle telling them to meditate over problems before, so slowly he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

\----------------------------------

_  
All he remembered was screaming._

_Screaming with complete and utter rage._

_He just kept smashing it down. Again, again, again._

_He hardly remembered hands grabbing him, pulling him off, everyone yelling, screaming, dashing around in a cluttered, chaotic mess._

_It was like his vision had whited out, he couldn't see anything, he could only feel._

_Feel the adrenaline, anger, tears, bruises on his legs and arms and back._

_He was so angry._

_And then suddenly, the emotions were gone._

_He was empty._

_He was left to stare at his reddened hands and the man that was unconscious before him._

\----------------------------------

Morro heard Lloyd coming back when he was busy trying not to puke into the toilet. He swore at himself, shakily pushing himself up and grabbing his phone from the counter to check the time. It was late. Way later than he thought it'd been. _Shit._

“Morro?”

Morro felt more sick hearing his own name. He tried to pull himself together but it was like his vision was spinning, he couldn't see straight. He heard the door open.

“Morro?!”

_Oh stop acting worried about me, you don't actually care._

Lloyd rushed forward, expression beyond concerned. “Holy crap, you look awful! Are you okay?!” He'd lifted his hands but they faltered before touching him. At least Lloyd remembered not to touch him without permission.

“I-I feel like I can't breath.” Morro admitted. He was still shaking, cursing himself and his inability to calm down.

Lloyd bit his lip, trying to think. “I'll get you water. Try to lay down.”

Morro wanted to argue, try and tell him he didn't need help, but he stayed silent. He nodded and shuffled out of the bathroom and back to his bed. He didn't lay down, too afraid to. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be on _this_ bed, in _this_ room. His eyes were drawn to the window, brief flashes of jumping out, running and screaming playing in his mind.

Lloyd returned with a glass of water in hand, giving it to Morro carefully. Morro took it silently, staring down into the liquid instead of at Lloyd's frown. He tried to still his trembling hands, taking a small sip.

After a long pause, Lloyd softly asked. “Do you want to talk about what's going on?”

Morro shook his head.

“Okay. Can I sit next to you?”

Morro nodded slowly, as if he was unsure but said yes anyways. Lloyd sat next to him, mattress dipping slightly with the added weight.

Lloyd lifted his arm, as if about to hug Morro but not quite. “Can I?”

Morro hesitated, eyes flickering to Lloyd's face with a mix of fear and doubt, but when he looked away again he nodded. He jumped when Lloyd's arm fell around his shoulders, heart hammering again, but he didn't push it away. Physical contact was nice… Something he didn't feel often.

He tried not to cry. He really did. But after a first, quiet sob escaped him, tears quickly followed. He cried harder than he had in awhile, hiccuping and gasping for breath, wiping at his eyes weakly between harsh, broken sobbing. Lloyd didn't move away, he stayed put, arm secure and comforting.

“I-I’m so-sorry-” Morro managed to hiccup out, hands covering his eyes in a meager attempt to conceal his ugly tears.

“It's okay.” Lloyd softly reassured. “It's okay to cry.”

Lloyd knew Morro wasn't any of what anyone said he was. He was hurting and he was sad. Lloyd wanted to help, he wanted to know what had happened to this poor man and he wanted to do everything he could to make it better. He didn't know if he could, but he wanted to _try_.

 

Morro woke up, safely tucked into bed. A fresh glass of water sat on the nightstand, a small notecard leaned against it. _Rest today, you deserve it_ was scrawled across it in borderline chicken scratch handwriting.

Morro didn't know what it was he felt, but it was something different than his usual hollow emotions.

A small flicker of light, and despite how small it may be, Morro found himself with a small smile on his face.


	6. Chapter 6

They didn't talk about what happened the night Morro cried. Morro was relieved Lloyd didn't try to ask him about it. He'd rather not acknowledge that he let himself sob uncontrollably in front of him. He'd rather not acknowledge that night even happened in general. Despite wanting to ignore what occurred, he noticed that Lloyd seemed to have changed after it. He seemed… softer.

He was still the same guy, all smiles and laughter and kindness. Morro couldn't place exactly what he was doing differently, but everything he did just seemed so… gentle now.

Morro both appreciated it and hated it.

“Morro, do you have anything to do tonight?”

Morro looked up from his mirror, currently applying makeup. “No, why?”

Lloyd was sitting on his bed, staring at his phone. “Let's go do something.”

Morro was almost surprised. They'd never really done anything together other than hang out in their room and wave at each other on the off chance they saw one another on campus. He went back to focusing on applying his eyeshadow properly. “Alright. Where do you wanna go?”

“I have no idea.” He paused a moment, fingers flying across his screen. “Kai says there's a party happening tonight?”

Morro's face morphed into disgust. “College parties are where people go to get drunk, do drugs and have sex. No thanks.”

“They're not _all_ like that.”

“Lloyd.” Morro gave him a pointed look.

Lloyd stared back, before saying, “okay, you're right.” He looked back at his phone, squinting at it as if it could give him all the answers.

“We could just walk around the town, see what there is to see.” Morro suggested, snapping his mirror closed. “Do my eyes look okay?”

Lloyd looked up at him, a warm smile falling across his face. “You look perfect, don't worry about it.”

Morro glanced away quickly, hiding a reddening face. “Alright.” He pushed himself up, going to the dresser to dig up his jacket. “I know a restaurant we could walk to. Have you eaten yet?”

“Nope!” Lloyd followed his example, getting up to fetch his own jacket. “Do you think the forest is too far to walk to?”

“No. Do you wanna go there?”

“I want to go to the lake. I heard it gets really pretty after dark.” Lloyd explained, giving up on finding a jacket and instead pulling his green hoodie over his head. “With all the stars and moon shining on it and stuff.”

“It’s gonna be at least two hours before it's dark out.” Morro stated, giving Lloyd a dull stare.

“We can take our sweet time eating then!” Lloyd announced with a grin. The look on his face suggested he wasn't changing his mind.

Morro sighed, “god, fine.”

\----------------------------------

“You like Mexican food?” Lloyd asked when Morro pointed out the restaurant they were going to down the street.

“Yeah, Mexican food fucking rocks.”

“I like Chinese.” Lloyd stated, but went inside with Morro anyways. He looked around with wide, curious eyes.

“Of course you like Chinese.” Morro grumbled, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!” Lloyd pouted at him.

“Chinese food is weird, you're weird. Perfect match.” Morro put it simply. “Shut up so I can get us seated.” Lloyd did as told, waiting until they were actually being walked to a table to continue their discussion.

“What's wrong with Chinese?!”

Morro groaned softly. “For fucks sake, Chinese has so much fucking rice.”

Lloyd gasped. “Are you saying you don't like rice?!”

“No, I do not.”

When they were seated, Lloyd gave a thanks to the waitress as she handed them menus before she walked away. As soon as she was gone, he immediately spun back to Morro. “Rice is a _blessing_ how do you not like-”

Morro placed his face in his hands. “Oh my _god._ Can we just agree to disagree?!”

Lloyd paused a moment before nodding. “Yeah.” He stared down at the menu blankly before murmuring. “I don't know what to get.”

Morro gave him a look. “Have you never eaten Mexican before or something?”

Lloyd returned the look. “I literally was _just_ saying I prefer Chinese.”

“I'll pick something for you.” Morro leaned over the table, swiping his menu from his grasp. Before too long, they'd both actually ordered and were left to chat about whatever came to mind.

Morro ended up asking about Lloyd's classes. He was taking a lot of required classes considering it was his first year, but he babbled a lot about how he was interested in different languages and sociology. Morro liked hearing him talk about what he was interested in. It was nice to watch him smile and laugh and ramble on and on about it.

They fell into conversations about nothing in particular as time passed, something silly they witnessed at school or the latest trends they didn’t understand. As they left (Morro paid for everything against Lloyd’s will) they continued to chat nonchalantly. Lloyd pointed out interesting shops or cool looking cars that drove by, all with a wide grin on his face. Morro just gave short “yeah” or “cool” responses to most of them, even though he did think it was rather cute this guy could get so excited over every little thing. When they left town, heading down a path to the lake, one that cut through the forest, they fell into a comfortable silence. Relatively speaking, they hadn’t even known each other that long, but it felt like they were close friends with how easy it was to remain silent together. Morro had to say he liked how it felt, Lloyd’s mere presence alone warming his soul. Lloyd gasped in absolute joy when the lake was in view, sprinting ahead. Morro quickly ran after, unwilling to admit he was afraid of being amongst the tall trees in the darkness by himself. 

“IT’S SO BIGGGGGG!” Lloyd yelled, probably just for the sake of yelling across the water.

Morro came up next to him, frowning at it’s deep blackness. “It looks terrifying.”

“It’ll look nicer when the stars come out!” Lloyd said with confidence, promptly plopping onto the ground. He patted the dirt next to him, smiling sweetly up at Morro.

He hesitated, “the ground is filthy,” he grumbled, but was already moving to sit. The smile did him in, he couldn’t say no to to that grin anymore. “It’s sorta cloudy, are you sure the stars will even be out tonight?” He grumbled, narrowing his eyes towards the sky

“Well…” Lloyd glanced at him. “Even if they don’t, we still can say we had fun hanging out.”

Morro stared back, heart doing weird shit in his chest that he didn’t understand, before slowly murmuring. “Yeah, I guess.”

They fell back into silence, staring out over the unmoving water before them. It was odd, being able to enjoy the other's presence without having to do anything. Morro guessed they did do that quite often though. They didn’t talk to each other in their dorm often and yet were still near one another constantly. He glanced at Lloyd again, how happy and peaceful he looked simply just sitting there. He didn’t understand how he did it. How could one be so happy all the time? He likely would never understand it. He felt he could never, possibly reach that level of happiness.

“Morro?” Lloyd whispered after what must have been at least five minutes. “Can I ask you something?”

 _Oh no_. Morro didn’t like how he sounded when he asked that at all. “Go for it.”

“What happened with your last roommate?”

...Oh.

This question.

Morro felt like his mind had short circuited, he couldn’t process a single thought to properly form a response. He could feel his hands start to shake at his sides simply from just trying to think about it. He didn’t know what to say. What was he supposed to say?

“I…”

His voice didn’t want to work with him.

“Did he hurt you?”

Morro froze up, eyes widening slowly. He stared into the darkness blankly. “Lloyd. I… I don’t…”

He couldn’t get himself to move but he heard Lloyd shifting. The blonde came into his vision, his expression nearly killing Morro to look at. “I don’t care about what you did. I want to know, did he hurt you?” He stared at him with so much seriousness, such a dark tone in his voice, that it sent a chill down his spine.

Morro tried to open his mouth but no words would leave him. Slowly instead, he nodded. He didn’t know why he did. He didn’t know why he let Lloyd know. Some small part of him just wanted _someone_ to know. _Anyone_ , just so he could stop being the only one with it stuck in his mind. Whenever he thought about it he felt like he was suffocating. He could feel ghosts of hands on him, the ache of bruises that were no longer there upon his skin, the sting of his tears from every time he’d cried, and memories of horrid moments he’d rather wipe from his mind pushed harshly at the edges of his vision.

“If you want to tell someone about it ever, I’ll listen.” Lloyd spoke slowly, as if speaking too quickly or loudly it would cause something to shatter.

Morro stared at him, feeling his breath hitch in his chest. _Don’t cry in front of him again, fuck._ Slowly he lifted his trembling hands, reaching out to Lloyd without thinking and pulling himself against him. He tried not to think about what he was doing, pushing his face against the blonde's shoulder without a word. His hands gripped onto him tightly. Lloyd slowly brought his own hands up to rest against Morro’s back, and when Morro didn’t tense, he slowly slid them more securely around his middle.

“Sorry I asked that,” Lloyd murmured. “I just… I knew you weren’t what everyone says you are. I knew you… Had a reason.”

Morro made a small noise against his shoulder, the best response he could give. He had a feeling Lloyd had been figuring it out all this time, he shouldn’t be surprised. He took a deep breath, letting himself relax against the figure he was clinging to. This was nice… He felt safe. He didn’t try to place why or what made this made him feel so protected, Lloyd was just a safe person. Safe and warm.

“Morro, the stars and moon are out now.” He could feel Lloyd turn his head as he said it, looking out over the lake.

Morro lifted his head, not removing his arms from Lloyd, secretly glad Lloyd didn’t remove his either. He breathed out a soft noise of awe, the moon and stars reflecting across the still surface. It was like a piece of the sky had dropped down to pool out before them. He slowly let his head drop to Lloyd’s shoulder again, keeping it turned so he could stare at it. “You were right… It’s nice.” He said quietly, wishing his voice didn’t sound so strained.

He didn’t know how long they sat there like that, but he didn’t care. It was comfortable, he liked being hugged. He liked how calm he felt as the time passed by and the question from earlier was forgotten. Eventually he felt himself nodding off though, and Lloyd suggested they head back. Lloyd stood first, offering his hands to Morro to help him up. He took them. Morro could have sworn they both hesitated a second too long before their hands slid apart, but he tried to not overthink it. He offered Lloyd a small, sheepish smile. Lloyd returned it with one of his blindingly bright grins. He led the way back down the path, using his phone for light.

When they came back to their dorm, Morro felt like he was going to pass out from how exhausted he was. Lloyd ushered him to bed, despite his complaints, and he fell asleep almost immediately.

He didn’t have a nightmare that night.


	7. Chapter 7

“ _Why_ do I have to do this?” Morro grumbled at Lloyd, staring up at the café they were in front of.

“We don't have to stay, I just want them to properly meet you instead of… Y’know, building everything they know about you off of rumors.” Lloyd responded. He didn't look very excited about this, frowning at the sign. “We only have to be there long enough to introduce you and let them say hi. Then we can leave.”

Morro wished he he could say no, but they'd honestly already had this discussion. Lloyd wanted his old friends and new friend to meet _properly_ , even though he said himself he was aware it might not go well. He had already planned for them to just go in, say hi, then leave before anyone could start a fight. He hoped. He knew Morro was anxious, he couldn't blame him, but he felt like if they could just, see him in person maybe they'd understand he wasn't what the rumors made him out to be.

Lloyd grabbed his hand and led the way in, “let's go.”

He hadn't told any of them he would bring Morro. In retrospect, he should have. It felt suffocating to have all their eyes just staring at the two in shock when they approached. Morro stayed extremely close to Lloyd, behind him slightly as a shield against the scrutinizing gaze of the group at the table..

“Hey. I wanted you guys to meet Morro properly.” Lloyd spoke evenly, meeting their stares unwaveringly.

None of them moved or said anything. There was such a heavy tension, Morro could feel it coming off of them in waves. There were mixed expressions being given to him, and honestly he was shocked he didn’t drop dead from the looks Cole and Nya were shooting at him. Jay seemed unsure, like he didn’t know what to think. Kai had a burning fire in his eyes, but he didn’t seem as angry as he could be. Zane was the only one who looked calm and collected.

Zane spoke first, “it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Morro could only shakily nod in response.

“We’re going out. I thought you’d like to know so you don’t wonder where I am.” Lloyd explained, hand lightly squeezing Morro’s in silent reassurance. They were almost done, they could leave soon. Lloyd already knew the worst of it he’d have to deal with alone. They’d all lecture him and yell at him as soon as he was alone with them, away from Morro.

When nobody responded, he turned to Morro. “Let’s go.” He tugged him by his hand out the doors. Morro could feel all their stares boring into his back as he followed. He looked back only once, seeing them all whispering to each other, eyes still locked onto them as they fled out the doors. The moment the doors shut behind them Lloyd paused, taking a deep breath before letting his shoulders relax. “Gosh… That was more stressful than expected.” He grinned at Morro.

Morro wasn’t sure what it was, maybe how easily Lloyd could still smile after that, but slowly he started laughing. “Oh my god, you’re so stupid. Did you think it would be _easy_?”

Lloyd started laughing as well, “well I could at least hope it’d be.”

Morro sighed as his laughter died out, just smiling at him. They still were gripping each other's hands, and he didn’t feel like letting go. “I feel like… shopping.”

“I can get some money from my Uncle Wu and we can go out.” Lloyd offered.

Morro hesitated, remembering _that_ old man was Lloyd’s uncle, but quickly pushed the thoughts away. It’d been so long, he likely didn’t even remember Morro. “Sure… How do we get there?”

“We can walk from here, but I also have a car we can take.” Lloyd said, beginning to lead the way.

“When the hell did you get a car?” Morro stared at him, perplexed as he quickly followed after.

“Well, it’s not _my_ car. But listen, it’s Kai’s fault for giving me a spare key.”

Morro had to try and suppress a laugh with his free hand, “oh my _god_.”

\----------------------------------

“What the _hell._ ” Nya hissed as soon as Lloyd and Morro were gone. “ _What the hell_.”

“Before any of you say _anything,_ I believe Lloyd is mature enough to make reasonable choices and we shouldn’t judge him for his choice of a friend.” Zane stated quickly, frowning at the several angry expressions around the table.

“But he chose Morro fucking _Storm_.” Kai growled, fists clenching against the table. “The guy who is fucking insane?!”

“We don’t know what happened, we weren’t _there_ -” Zane started.

Nya snapped, “I was!! I had to pull that psycho _off_ of his roommate!” The look she was giving Zane made him snap his mouth shut. “Do you know how fucked that was? Watching somebody get tackled and see them get bashed with a rock?! Do you have _any_ idea how terrifying it was to see the _blood_. He had it on him. On his hands, and it was all over the rock, but you’re telling me not to _worry_ about Lloyd?!”

Jay softly murmured, “Nya… I don’t think…”

“No. She’s right.” Cole interrupted. “This is really fucked. I don’t think he should go getting attached to that guy.” His eyebrows furrowed together, he grumbled. “You saw their hands, didn’t you?”

There was silence, before Kai mumbled. “I swear to god, if they’re dating or something…”

Nya placed her face in her hands, groaning. “Oh lord.”

Jay tried to bring back some optimism, piping up, “hey now guys, we don’t _know_ for sure, let’s try to not overthink this.”

There was silence again. Nya slowly lifted her head, glaring at the table as she thought. “I don’t know what to do.” She finally admitted softly. She ran a hand over her face, leaning back into the cushions of the seat. “He’s not going to listen to us. We all know he isn’t.”

“We can still sit him down and give him a talk.” Cole stated, very serious. “Just hope he listens.”

“You two sound like parents, omg.” Jay couldn’t hold in his amused grin at that.

“We’re Lloyd’s parents, _obviously._ ” Cole joked, speaking over dramatically.

“Lloyd is our son now.” Nya added, smiling herself a bit with the lighter mood coming back to them.

“What does that make Jay and I then?” Zane asked.

“His other Dad’s. I’m the annoying Uncle.” Kai explained with a nod.

Jay laughed, “oh my gosh, you guys.”

\----------------------------------

Lloyd was not joking when he said he had extra keys for Kai’s car. He also was not joking about taking it to drive places. Morro couldn’t really complain too much, he didn’t have a car himself. He rode the bus everywhere that was too far away to walk. He would take stealing Lloyd’s friends car over the bus any day honestly. The bus was full of the weirdest people you could ever meet. He’d learned from experience. He’d have to tell Lloyd about his wild busride stories some time. He’d met an elvis-lookalike once and never fully got over it. _He even sounded like Elvis_. Or the time he met one of the guys who ran a local shop. He wasn’t really sure what the place was supposed to be. He’d visited the store a few times, it always had a weird collection of neat things, varying from clothes to useless knicknacks to even some things that look like they belonged in a museum rather than a small shop. The only issue he had was the guy who ran it was he was a little off putting. He had what Morro could only assume was an eyepatch over one eye, long, shaggy brown hair that hung around his face and messy stubble across his chin… He reminded Morro of someone he’d like to forget.

“Are you sure we can just take his car?” Morro asked once they were in.

“He’s fine with me using it when I need it as long as I don’t crash or something.” Lloyd shrugged, turning the key so the car came to life. “It’ll be fine.”

“What if he needs it?”

“He has a party tonight, one he doesn’t have to drive to. It’s fine.” Lloyd reassured with a grin, before turning his focus to driving. “Now, to my Uncle’s! Where do you want to go after?”

“Anywhere that sells clothes preferably.”

“Alright!”

\----------------------------------

Morro wasn’t looking forward to this, he wasn’t looking forward to it at all. He could feel a pit in his stomach just thinking about it as Lloyd announced they were there. “Maybe I should just stay in the car.”

Lloyd glanced at him. “I’m sure my uncle would love to meet you, it’s okay! He’s really nice.”

“I… I don't know.”

Lloyd got out of the car, going around to his side to open the door for him. “Come on, it’ll be fine. I promise.”

Morro frowned at him, but sighed and reluctantly got out to follow him. He wrapped his arms around himself as they approached the front door, some sort of shield in his mind against the old man he’d have to come face to face with. Lloyd didn’t even knock, swinging the door open to shout, “UNCLE WU!”

The old man came shuffling into the living room. “I'm coming, I'm coming, no need to yell.” He huffed, but hugged his nephew nonetheless.

Lloyd turned, gesturing to Morro. “I brought my friend.”

Morro felt a lump in his throat form when he saw the recognition in Wu’s eyes. “Morro?”

Lloyd looked surprised. “Do you know him?”

Wu nodded, going past Lloyd to approach him. When he extended a hand, Morro almost flinched away, but it was placed tenderly on his arm. “It's good to see you again.”

Lloyd strode over, eyes wide, “wait, wait, wait, how do you two know each other?”

“I was his student.” Morro managed to squeak out. God, why did he have to sound so _afraid_? “He kicked me from his class when I… Uh...” He trailed off, looking down.

Wu gently patted his arm. “All old deeds can be forgiven, the past is in the past.” He looked back to his wide eyed nephew. “If he never was kicked from my first classes, he easily could have been a member of you and your friends club.”

Lloyd's jaw dropped. “Wait, Morro you used to take _martial arts_ classes under you?!”

Morro nodded slowly.

“Why didn't you tell me?!” Lloyd cried out. “Oh my gosh. You would fit right in with our club!”

Morro gave a dry laugh. “Yeah, sure, if they didn't hate my guts.”

Wu frowned slightly, before shuffling back towards the kitchen. “Come sit, I just made tea.”

Lloyd and Morro shared a glance, but didn't say anything, obediently walking to the table to take a seat. Wu came back, hot kettle and cups in hand. He poured them each a cup, sliding the mugs across the table before also setting out a bowl of sugar. Morro waited until Lloyd took a sugar cube to tentatively reach out for one himself.

The old man seated himself across from the pair, hands holding his mug carefully as he observed them. “How did you two meet?” He asked after a moment.

“We're roommates.” Lloyd replied, still adding more sugar to his tea. Morro nearly wanted to gag imagining how sweet it must be at this point. Lloyd had a sweet tooth, confirmed.

“Ah I see.” Wu mused, taking a sip of his drink. “Why is it my other students dislike you?” He turned his gaze to Morro.

Morro froze up at that question, and Lloyd quickly answered for him. “There was a, uh, incident between him and his last roommate. They had a fight.” When Wu raised a brow at him, he added, “it got physical, people blame Morro for it. Even though they shouldn't.”

Morro glanced at the blonde, a mixed expression of confusion and relief on his face. Lloyd was on his side, he was happy for that… But on the other hand he still couldn't believe that Lloyd liked him enough to defend him. He lifted his head, attempting to say, “I… I'll admit my temper has always been bad.”

Wu sighed, “Well you aren't wrong. You were the most aggressive student I've had, though Kai may be a close second to you.”

Lloyd covered his mouth, trying to conceal a grin. “Oh my gosh, yeah, Kai is really bad sometimes.” He glanced at Morro. “I can sorta see the resemblance.”

“God, don't compare me to one of the _Blacksmiths_.” Morro grumbled, finally drinking his own cup of tea.

“I do believe if my students are judging you for something that is in the past, I may need to teach a new lesson about accepting others.” Wu sighed as he said it.

“It's… More complicated than you think.” Morro said. He looked tense, but continued anyways. “I've done some unforgivable shit. I don't blame them.”

“Anything is forgivable, if the one who committed the act is willing to change himself for the better.” Wu responded smoothly. He peered over the edge of his cup. “Did I ever tell you the story of my brother?”

Morro shook his head slowly. He couldn't help but notice the expression that flashed across Lloyd's face… It looked terribly sad.

Wu's eyes flicked to Lloyd a moment, but he pressed on. “My brother was a man who made many bad choices. He got involved with drugs, and the dark underworld of crime that exists in our world, as sad as it is.” He stared off at the ceiling, as if he could something what Morro couldn't. “He got himself stuck in a life of crime, he became a king of the underworld, highly resented by many for the title.” The old man continued, though reached a hand across to Lloyd when the blonde's hands turned to fists against the table. “Despite this all, he fell in love. He fell for a beautiful, wonderful woman and had a child with her. Lloyd Garmadon.”

Morro's eyes widened, his head turning slightly to stare at Lloyd. “Where… Where is he?”

Lloyd answered before Wu could, voice tight. “One of the other higher ups from the underworld killed him. They were mad he left that life for a family.”

Wu frowned, sorrowful. “Lloyd was very young at the time…”

“I was 9.”

Morro's jaw went slack, mouth falling open in shock. He never would have thought _this_ was the kind of things Lloyd had to deal with. Lloyd just seemed so… happy.

“What about the woman? Y-You’re mom?” Morro asked shakily, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

“She was afraid they'd come for her next. She gave Lloyd to me, and we went our separate ways.” Wu explained. “We traveled far away from the city we used to live in and ended up here.”

Lloyd murmured, eyes fogged over and disant. “We haven't spoken to her in ten years…”

Morro knew what that could mean… Judging from both their expressions they knew as well. “I'm… I'm so sorry.” He said slowly, unsure what else to say.

Lloyd closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, before turning to his friend. “The point Uncle Wu is trying to make, is if you're willing to change, you can be forgiven. We didn't forget what my father had done, but we forgave him, and we loved him.” He was completely serious, all his previous liveliness gone. “I refuse to believe you shouldn't be forgiven. Not when even my Dad was able to be.”

Morro was stunned into silence. He'd come here planning for them to drop by quickly and be on there way. He didn't expect to get forgiven by his previous teacher then have the story of Lloyd's parents dropped on him like a bomb. It felt wrong almost, learning something so personal to Lloyd.

Morro finally spoke, “but, did your dad… Hurt people? Like I did?”

Lloyd grabbed Morro's hand, grip almost tight enough to be painful. “Morro, he was a _king of the underworld_. He _killed_ people.” His eyes were stony, cold and serious.

Morro stared back at him, before slowly looking down at his lap. Everything was suddenly so serious, he felt like it was suffocating him to the point he couldn't speak. What was he supposed to even say? _I could have killed him,_ he wanted to say. He wanted to stand and just spew everything, tell them exactly how he _wanted_ to kill him when he did it, tell them he shouldn't be forgiven because he’d _wanted_ to hurt him. Looking at Lloyd though, all his words left him.

The blonde sighed, before turning to his Uncle. “I think… We're going to head out. Can I borrow some money?”

Wu nodded, pushing himself up to walk out. He came back handing cash to Lloyd. “You honestly need to get a job.”

“One day.” Lloyd grinned in response, stuffing it into his pocket before Wu could say a thing more. “Let's go.”

Morro got up to follow Lloyd silently. He thought he should have thanked Wu for the tea, or something. Maybe thank him for his forgiveness, thank him for trusting him enough to share the story he did. No words left him though, he didn’t even look back, just ran out as quickly as he could after Lloyd. They didn’t speak as Lloyd pulled out of the driveway and back onto the road, the air tense. Finally he broke the silence, voice quiet, “sorry about us suddenly telling you about my dad.”

“It’s okay.”

“I know nobody ever knows what to say about it when we explain.” Lloyd continued, frowning out at the road. “But… I don’t know. I almost feel like we shouldn’t have explained such an extreme story. We shouldn’t have just, dropped that on you so suddenly.”

Morro didn’t know what to say, Lloyd was right about that. He fiddled with his fingers in his lap, before saying, “I’m glad I know. I never would have thought…”

Lloyd smiled slightly but it didn't seem happy. “I don't really seem like the type to have a criminal as a father, do I?”

“Yeah.”

They fell back into an uneasy silence, neither sure what to say. Lloyd finally said, “Kai's gonna murder me.”

Morro couldn't help but smile at that. “You did steal his car.”

“Yeah, I did.” Lloyd grinned as well. “Where do you wanna go? Downtown?”

“Sure, as long as we can look at some clothes I'm happy.” Morro shrugged, relaxing back into the seat. He finally took a moment to look around the car, noticing shades seated in one of the cupholders, in the other a pack of cigarettes. He raised a brow, “does Kai smoke?”

Lloyd frowned slightly. “Sometimes. It's… It's a bad habit.”

“Ah.” He dropped it after that, seeing Lloyd's expression as a good enough reason to not push that topic any further. He leaned over, eyeing the buildings outside. 

When they parked, he followed Lloyd's lead. As they walked, observing the different stores they passed, Morro finally found his voice. “Hey Lloyd?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you.” He halted them in front of a clothing store that looked promising, observing the displays in the window as if he hadn't even said anything.

Lloyd perked, glancing at him. “For what?”

“Being my friend.” Morro answered, before grabbing his arm and leading him in. “As thanks, I'm buying you new clothes.”

“What?”

“You need at least one outfit suitable for wearing to nice occasions. Also I like clothes, I dare say almost as much as I like makeup, so let me have this chance to dress you up, okay?”

Lloyd didn't argue much with him, resigning himself with a sigh and a smile. He was glad Morro seemed happier now. Much happier than when they first met. Hopefully he could keep things this way.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I know nothing about fashion so I just winged the part with clothes??
> 
> So. Yup.

**THE COOL DUDE** : Lloyd did you steal my fucking car????

**THE COOL DUDE** : Lloyd

**THE COOL DUDE** : LLOYD

**THE COOL DUDE** : LLOYD MONTGOMERY GARMADON, YOU STOLE MY CAR DIDNT YOU

**Rock Hard** : omg

**Mr.Freeze** : You’re the one who gave him spare keys.

\----------------------------------

Morro had quite the taste in clothes. Lloyd mostly followed him around as he poked through clothing racks, mumbling softly to himself. Occasionally he'd hold something up to Lloyd, either shake his head and put it back, or nod approvingly and add it to the pile cradled in one of his arms. Eventually, he found himself shoved into a changing room, Morro handing him one of the outfits he picked out.

Lloyd tried one outfit at a time, coming out for Morro to judge before his friend either decided if it was a keeper or not. This didn't go on for long before Morro declared he knew what they were buying and gathered the pieces of the outfit he picked. Lloyd didn’t have much say in the matter, but he trusted Morro’s judgement of fashion far more than his own. Apparently Morro had chosen two outfits, Lloyd only noticing this as they were at the check out that he had. He tried offering to help pay for it, but Morro shushed him and insisted it was his gift.

It wasn’t too flashy, or too ripped up as Lloyd feared it might be considering how Morro dressed himself typically. It was actually fairly casual compared to what he'd expected, but still nice looking. It was a light green v neck under a much darker green jacket, with regular, though a little tight fitting, jeans. The other outfit looked more fit for special occasions. It was a collared, dark green shirt, black slacks, alongside even a tie or two. Lloyd didn't know how ties even worked, but if Morro insisted. Morro said something about “green is your color” as they headed out. He and Morro seemed to share a love for green, considering the dyed streak in the his hair.

The rest of their afternoon was spent chatting about whatever came to mind and exploring random shops in town. They dropped by the store of the weird guy Morro knew of, Ronin he think his name was? He was just as off-putting as usual to him, but Lloyd seemed unbothered, smiling at the man and speaking politely. They left without buying anything, however hard Ronin tried to sell them certain items he decided they’d like for some reason. At some point or another, Lloyd had checked his phone and discovered many messages from Kai telling him to bring his car back, alongside a message from Cole asking if they could talk. The one asking to talk made him nervous, but he did his best to brush it off, explaining to Morro they should get back.

They went separate ways back at their dorm, Lloyd saying his friends wanted to talk to him. Morro just nodded, though he seemed unhappy, frowning as the blonde left.

\----------------------------------

Lloyd got invited to Cole and Zane's dorm room when he texted that he could talk to them now. It was a nice place, they kept it very tidy (Zane kept it very tidy). They had a collection of posters, one for a wrestling tournament, taped to the ceiling somehow, the rest being different posters for plays Cole had gotten to be in. Zane himself simply had vases of flowers on display, resting on the window sill at the far end of the room. He was also aware they had one of those small, movable fridges. He knew cause last time he got to come in there, Cole had immediately shown it to him to give him soda.

Honestly Lloyd was just amazed they were lucky enough to be roomed together more than anything.

Zane was the one who opened the door when he knocked, smiling softly. “Hello Lloyd.” He stepped aside to let him in. “Do you want anything?”

“I'm okay thanks.” Lloyd smiled as he stepped in. He saw Cole on his bed, sitting cross legged with what he assumed was a script in his lap.

He glanced up when he entered, “hey.”

“Hey.” Lloyd responded, sliding his hands into his jeans pockets. He suddenly remembered he was still wearing the outfit Morro bought him, and hoped silently they wouldn't ask just so he wouldn't have to explain.

Zane stepped around Cole, sitting down next to him on his bed. The way they both looked at him instilled that feeling you get when you _know_ you're parents were about to give you a serious talk. Lloyd didn't like it.

“You wanted to talk to me?”

Cole nodded, sharing a glance with Zane before he said slowly, “we wanted to talk to you about… Morro.”

Lloyd grimaced. He knew this was coming but it didn't mean he had to like it. He fell back to sit on the edge of the other bed, crossing his arms defensively. “Okay.”

Cole continued with a frown, “we really don't think it's a good idea for you to be around him. We were talking and we think it might be a good idea for you to look into getting a different room.”

“Why is it so awful that I spend time with him?” Lloyd asked, expression already angry and guarded.

“We're just worried about your safety-”

“You have to be kidding me!” Lloyd snapped, voice coming out louder than he intended. “I'm so sick of you guys acting like he's some sort of serial killer. He's not a _threat_ to my safety, he's not about to try and kill me or something!”

“Lloyd how do-”

“NO. How do _you_ know?” Lloyd shouted before he could finish. “You haven't spent time with him! You haven't even talked to him! You don't know _anything_ about what happened to him. I don't want to hear about how unsafe he is from people who don't even fricking KNOW HIM.”

Zane started, “Lloyd-”

“No. I don't want to hear it.” Lloyd stood, tense and extremely upset. “I'm tired of you all trying to make my choices for me, I'm tired of you judging my friend who you don't even _know_. I'm done with this.” He spun on his heel, marching out.

“Wait, Lloyd-”

The door slamming shut was the only response they got.

Cole winced, before sighing. He ran a hand through his hair. “Man… This is hard.”

Zane gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “He does have a bit of a point though… All of us are babying him a bit much.”

“But I still don't think…”

Zane shushed him with a finger. “I know. But we still have to realize, Lloyd's right. We don't know Morro like he does. And we're treating him like a child who can't think for himself.” His hands fell to his lap. “If something dangerous to Lloyd's safety actually happens, then we can intervene but perhaps for now we should back off a bit?”

Cole frowned at him, before heaving another heavy sigh. “Yeah. I guess.” He fell back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. “Why is this all so complicated?”

Zane frowned slightly himself, leaning over his boyfriend slightly. “Hey, how about we have some cake to cheer up, hm?” He offered him a small smile as he said it.

Cole looked up at him, before smiling in return. “Yknow, this is why I love you.”

\----------------------------------

Lloyd found even after exploding at Cole and Zane, it didn't stop the others from trying to talk to him about it as well. He ended up going out of his way to avoid them, getting increasingly annoyed as the days passed. Morro was noticing his changing attitude, but when he tried to ask about it, the blonde said he'd rather not talk about it. He didn't want his friend to blame himself for this happening. He could deal with it without having to get him involved.

He was starting to feel like he was going to have to draw a line on his friends behavior. They were all only concerned for him, he knew that, but it upset him to no end that they had to be concerned over _this_. Cole and Zane seemed to have backed off, along with Jay, but Nya and Kai were like an unstoppable tag team who lectured him whenever they got the chance.

Nya didn't listen to him. It made him mad when he tried to explain, just for her to ignore what he said and keep saying Morro was _bad_. He hated it.

Even with Morro, whenever they went out now he went out of his way to make sure they never ran into his friends. Everything was nicer just spending time with him. Morro was snarky, sassy sometimes, kind of a grump others, but overall he wasn't mega judgemental and actually fun to be around. They did different things over the weeks, whenever they had free time. They went shopping together more than once, went out to eat together often, went for walks around the parks, sometimes just found somewhere to sit and relax for awhile.

Lloyd honestly thought Morro was beautiful. The way he looked when he was genuinely happy was the best, prettiest thing you'd ever see in your lifetime. His smile? Like someone had cracked open the sun to shine down at you. His laugh? You couldn't beat his laugh, nobody could beat that. Not when he sounded so happy.

Probably after a month of dealing with his friends, he finally had to draw the line. He didn't remember exactly what happened, the moment heated and angry, yelling on both sides as an argument had broken out between them. He was fairly sure almost everyone was there except Jay and Zane, which was probably why a fight even started. Those two tried to keep the rest calm when they were around.

Lloyd had ended up snapping that he didn't want to be near any of them anymore if they were going to be like this, before storming off.

\----------------------------------

**Go Ninja Go Chat**

**[Lord Garmotron] has left the chat**

**Mr.Freeze** : ...

**Sparky Sparky Boom Man** : oh no

**THE COOL DUDE** : Shit,,

**Rock Hard** : Guys, I think we fucked up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to those who have read this so far, the ones who have left comments honestly made my day cause I never expected anyone to like this h a.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay warning for Morro talking about his assault/abuse from his past roommate in the first part of this fic, as well as mentioning a suicide attempt. If any of this will bother you skip to the first ----- kind of break in the fic. The roommates name is Aiden, thats the only essential knowledge you need to know if your skipping that part!  
> Stay safe dearies

Morro hadn't failed to notice Lloyd's worsening mood the past few weeks. Even though he didn't want to talk about whatever was causing it, it affected Morro's mood as well. Sure, he'd been happier than usual, perhaps the happiest he'd ever been the past month or two, but it was inevitable that everything negative inside his mind would catch back up with him. The shared, negative mood from Lloyd just hurried the process of falling back into the dark pit of his mind. He hated it. With the returning unhappiness came the thoughts he didn't want to have again.

It was late at night, he wasn't sure the exact time, all he knew was it'd been dark out for awhile. He was positive he and Lloyd were both unable to sleep, still awake thanks to each of their personal issues plaguing their minds.

“Lloyd?” Morro finally murmured after a few more minutes.

“Yeah?”

He hesitated, not sure what he wanted to say. Finally, words spilled from him. “His name was Aiden.” It came out slowly, like he wasn't sure about what the words leaving his mouth.

He heard Lloyd shifting in his bed. “What?”

“My… My last roommate.”

There was a long silence, before the blonde finally softly responded with, “oh.” More shifting could be heard as he rolled onto his side, staring through the darkness at him. “Do you want to talk about him…?”

Morro's response was an unspoken yes as he continued. “He was… I thought I cared about him.” He paused again, blinking up at the ceiling. “He was so… I don't know. It felt like we were friends before but then I started feeling like I was was his punching bag I guess.”

“Wait, he'd hurt you like, physically?!” Lloyd nearly threw himself off his bed in shock.

“Yeah… Not at first. First it was just, getting mad and telling me it was my fault until I believed it. Then making me think it was my fault he'd hit me. Then…” He trailed off, voice dying at the thought of the next events that had occurred. “Things that I don't want to think about happened.” He settled on that as an explanation. He was surprised he was so calm describing it, having become used to crying and breakdowns when he thought about it all this deeply.

Maybe it was how late it was. Maybe he was just tired of crying. He didn't know.

Lloyd listened silently, expression troubled as Morro kept going. “Eventually I just, I shut down. I didn't care anymore. I tried fighting back, it didn't work. I tried running, he caught me. I tried… Taking a cowards way out. It failed.” He grimaced just saying it, fingers clenching into the sheets uncomfortably. “I don't know when I got mad. But I did. And then, well, you've heard the rest.”

Lloyd remained silent after that. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, Morro knew there was not much one could say in response to that. He finally spoke, asking, “by cowards way out, do you mean…?”

“I tried to off myself?” Morro responded bluntly. “Yeah.”

“Morro…”

“I feel so fucked up.” He continued, bitterness sneaking into his voice. “I can't believe I tried to kill him.”

“You didn't-”

“I wanted to. I wanted him to die.” Morro spat, something venomous in his tone. “I was tired of hiding bruises all the damn time and being yelled at and thinking he was going to kill me.” He lifted his hands, staring at his fingers, the darkness making it easy to imagine blood still on them. “It's weird. Thinking I wanted to murder someone.” His hands fell back down to his sides.”I don't think I could now. It was only right then… I don't even know what happened, I think I just snapped.”

Lloyd honestly didn't know what to say. What did someone even say in response to that? “It's good he's not here anymore.”

Morro laughed bitterly, “he's only gone because I broke his bones and gave him a concussion!” His laugh turned twisted, sounding more like sobs. “I tried to kill him and he's the one who had to leave. _Somehow_ I'm still fucking here!”

Lloyd pushed himself up slightly, frowning as he could see Morro was actually crying now. So much for not crying.

Morro didn't try to cover his face this time, didn't even bother trying to hide his tears. “I said I wouldn't cry in front of you again…” He croaked out, hiccuping on another sob as he stared at the ceiling.

Lloyd pressed his lips together tightly, unsure what to do. He pushed himself up, crossing the distance between their beds and sitting on the edge of Morro's to look down at him. “You know I don't hate you or anything, right?” He asked softly.

Morro didn't respond, shutting his eyes tightly as if that'd make Lloyd disappear. It hurt, how much he cared. He wanted him to go away. He hated how confused his emotions around Lloyd made him. He hated that the blonde always forgave him, he hated that no matter what he said or did, the blonde was still on his side. “I-I don't understand…”

“Don't understand?”

Morro cracked his eyes open again, looking up at Lloyd helplessly. “I don't… Why do you keep caring about me? Despite what I _did_?”

“Kinda hard to not with my Dad being a crime lord.” Lloyd shrugged, before sighing. “Also no offense, but that guy sounded like he might have deserved some broken bones.”

Morro choked on a short laugh, lifting his hands to wipe at his eyes. “I guess.”

“If he was willing to hurt you to the point you broke like that, he _definitely_ deserved it.” Lloyd nodded, tone serious. He added, “and if anyone ever tried to hurt you again, well,” he lifted his fists, “I have these and years of martial arts under my belt.”

Morro gave a small laugh again, sniffing slightly. “You shouldn't hurt anyone for me… Everyone would call you crazy too.”

“Yeah, maybe. But I'd still fight for you if I had to.”

Morro stared at him quietly a few moments after he said that. “Why?”

Lloyd gave him a wide eyed glance like it was obvious. “Well, you're my friend aren't you?”

“...Yeah. I guess I am.”

The blonde gave him a warm smile at that, not saying anything more.

After a bit, Lloyd began to stand, but Morro caught his wrist before he could. “W-Wait… Can you… uh,” he paused, face heating up in embarrassment at the request he wanted to ask.

The blonde shifted, “yeah? What is it?”

“Can you… uh. Stay here…? Until I'm asleep?” He somehow managed to choke it out past his embarrassment, looking away as his face reddened.

Lloyd smiled softly, settling back down to his seat on the edge of his bed. “Alright. I can do that.”

Having someone close to him was calming. Someone he trusted, someone he knew wasn't like Aiden. Someone who never would be like him… Lloyd helped him rest easy.

\----------------------------------

Lloyd and Morro visited Wu again a few times. Morro had slowly relaxed around him, realizing he really didn't hate him at all. Wu treated him just the same as the others, as if he was still one of his students whom he cared for deeply. They ended up going to him this time hoping for advice. Lloyd had wanted to go by himself, not wanting to have to explain in front of Morro his issues with his friends, but he wasn't about to deny him coming with either.

Wu was actually quite calming to be around. Lloyd hadn't been going to their club meetings, not wanting to be near his friends, but he still visited when the others wouldn't be there. Morro also enjoyed spending time with the old man. Wu always offered tea and was ready to lend a listening ear if either of them needed to talk.

When they showed up, Wu was in the kitchen. “Lloyd, is that you?” He called.

“Yeah?” Lloyd shrugged off the jacket he was wearing, hanging it over one of the dining rooms chairs.

“Would you come help me with this?”

“Of course.” Lloyd glanced at Morro, “give us a second,” before disappearing into the kitchen.

Morro sighed, wishing he could assist as well, but knew two sets of hands was probably more than enough in Wu’s tiny kitchen. He seated himself at the table, smoothing out the shorts he was wearing once he did. He let his mind wander, albeit carefully considering the darker thoughts still stuck in the back of his mind. He had to admire the décor Wu placed around his home. There seemed to be a theme of dragons, whether it was paintings on the walls or small dragon sculptures placed here and there.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Lloyd was stirring soup on the stove while Wu wandered about, buttering toasted bread and mixing together a salad. “So, you've been absent from the club meetings.”

Lloyd grimaced, “uh, yeah.”

Wu raised a brow at him, Lloyd couldn't look him in the eye. “You do realize they told me what happened.”

He grimaced, visibly wincing. “They did?”

Wu shrugged, picking up his bowl of salad. “I wouldn't just fail to notice your absence. They explained when I asked.” He paused by the doorway. “I hope you realize they feel bad.”

Lloyd frowned down at the soup, pausing in his stirring. “Even Kai and Nya?”

“I haven't seen Nya, she's busy as you know.” Wu stated, but added softly. “But I'm sure you'd understand even Kai felt bad if you'd seen his face when explaining.” He added, “that soup is done if you'd like to pour us each bowls. I'll set the other things out.”

Lloyd nodded stiffly. He didn't expect Wu to know, but then again he had to realize that _of course_ the others would explain it to him. It was actually kind of stupid to think he wouldn't know. He could just imagine his uncle lecturing the others over it…

It brought a small smile back to his face as he carefully brought the bowls out.

Morro perked when he saw them both placing food in front of him. “Oh, you don't have to feed me, it's okay.”

Wu shook his head, “nonsense, you're my guest and my student. Eat.”

Morro frowned, obviously wanting to argue that it was fine and he really didn't have to, but all he murmured was, “thanks Mister Wu.”

Lloyd slid into his usual seat, next to Morro. They talked about nothing in particular, what they'd been up to in school, stories of Wu’s childhood. Lloyd was glad his uncle didn't bring up what they'd talked about briefly in the kitchen. In all honesty, Wu knew him better than he realized sometimes, he’d probably figured out he hadn't talked to Morro about this yet.

“Lloyd, are you wearing makeup?” Wu asked after a bit.

“Oh, yeah.” Lloyd forgot he'd let Morro put eyeshadow on him again before they'd gone out that day. “Morro did it.”

“You're very talented.” Wu smiled across the table at Morro, leading to him flushing slightly at the compliment.

“Well, I mean, I am taking classes for it.” He mumbled.

Lloyd nodded, “yup. He's doing cosmetology!”

This developed into a conversation where Morro actually spoke up more. There was a hint of a smile there as he talked about it, which in turn made Lloyd smile warmly as well. Wu observed them with wise eyes. They looked like his brother and his wife with the way they smiled at eachother. He shook his head, sighing to himself. He was sure his brother would be happy his son found someone he cared for in such a way. He'd be proud if he could see him now.

\----------------------------------

Wu told Lloyd he should tell Morro about what was going on before they left, so he listened to him and did just that. Morro had gotten mad, there was a lot of “what the fuck” and “why didn't you tell me” and, exactly as Lloyd had feared, “I can't believe I'm ruining your friendships”. He walked out on him, still shouting about how he couldn't believe he didn't tell him. Lloyd didn't know what to do, so he just sighed and stayed in their room.

Maybe twenty minutes later, Morro came back and apologized. They had a proper discussion on it after that. Neither really knew what to do, Lloyd admitted he felt angry still, so that led to them returning to Wu for assistance.

Which… led to Wu making them show up to a meeting with all the others as well. Lloyd silently thanked the stars that Nya was too busy to ever come to these things. She was the most stubborn when it came to Morro, he didn't want to hear what she had to say about him again. Though even with her not there, it was still uncomfortable. Lloyd and Morro stayed seated away from the others, who he knew were all staring at them. He didn't return their gazes, keeping his eyes focused ahead, softly murmuring reassurances to Morro. He could tell his friend was on the edge of a panic attack with the nerves building in the room, so with a hand holding his he did his best to keep him calm while waiting for Wu to come back.

“My students.” Wu didn't hesitate to jump right into business when he came back with his tea. “I've been made aware of a problem that's arisen between you all. You can't seem to forgive someone's past and accept Lloyd's new friend.” Nobody dared try to interrupt him, so he continued. “I'm sure I have told you all the stories of my brother?”

There was a soft murmured “yes Mister Wu” in response.

“Then I'm sure you should know there's always more sides to a story. Sometimes people do bad things when they are good people.” He glanced at Morro, seeing he was staring down at his legs in silence. “Have you ever considered his side of the story? What drove him to do what he'd done?” Nobody responded so Wu raised a brow at them. “Well?”

“No Mister Wu,” came the quiet, mumbled response.

“Then I have a new task for you all.” He gestured to Lloyd and Morro, “get to know Lloyd's friend properly. He is someone I also care about as he was a student of mine, and in my eyes still is.” The four all reacted with wide eyes at that statement. “We respect our fellow students. I will not take lightly any further mistreatment of him.”

All eyes turned towards Zane as he spoke up, “Morro.” He was looking directly at him, though it was difficult for Morro to meet his gaze. “I want to sincerely apologize on behalf of me and my friends. I hope you can understand why we reacted the way we did, but at the same time our teacher is right that we do not know the full story. If you'd ever like to tell us your side of all this, we are willing to listen.”

Morro just nodded, stiff and uneasy. They could say as many kind words as they wanted, he found it difficult to believe them. Lloyd squeezed his hand lightly, responding for him, “I think… It's a story for a different time.”

Zane nodded respectfully, expression speaking volumes of sympathy and understanding. He glanced back at the others, their faces also painted with sympathy and guilt. Wu let them all go for the day soon after, though he kept Lloyd and Morro a bit longer. He had actually been training Morro again, though more on mediation than anything else. Morro didn't feel ready for learning any fighting, but the mediation was helpful. Wu knew it too, and with Lloyd there as well it was always pleasant to learn. Especially after a stressful meeting with the people he still felt hated his guts, it was very relaxing.

He just had to hope when they tried to befriend him it wouldn't end hellishly.

\----------------------------------

“What?! Are you serious?”

“Serious as ever sis.”

Kai was at Nya’s place, sprawled across her couch. It'd been decided he had to tell her about what Wu had told him and the others in regards to Morro. He hadn't expected it to be pleasant with her stubborn attitude.

Nya was pacing, expression tense and angry, obviously unsure what to do with the information she'd been given. “Wu said he used to be one of his students?”

Her brother gave a short “mhm” in response, absentmindedly picking at his nails instead of focusing on his fuming sister. He dropped his hands when she didn’t respond again, looking over at her. “Sis, you realize you do gotta give the guy a chance. If for anything to at least explain himself.”

“What if he lies about it?”

“Sis. If Mister Wu trusts him, I think that speaks for itself.” Kai responded evenly.

“But… I just…” She bit her lip, stopping her pacing to stare at the floor. Her arms crossed over her chest, hands curled into fists. “Kai I was there. I saw what he did I just…” She trailed off. “Regardless of what Wu says, I just don’t think I can just forget what I saw happen.”

Kai frowned, before sighing and pushing himself up. “Hey lil sister, come here.” He enveloped her in a hug as soon as she stepped towards him, rubbing her back reassuringly. “You don’t gotta trust him or forgive him or anything. I know I don’t really trust him either. I think Wu just wants us to realize he’s a person too, y’know?”

Nya rested her chin on his shoulder, slowly letting her arms slide around him in return. “...Yeah I guess.”

“We don’t even have to do anything yet, okay?” Kai responded, leaning back to look at her. “Jay and Zane are already planning to do stuff with him first. Wu wants us all to eventually plan something with him and Lloyd, but we got awhile to sort ourselves out since they volunteered to go first. We’ll figure this out sis, it’ll be okay.”

Nya sighed, she was still unsure about all this, maybe even still mad about it, but she guessed her brother was right. “I just don’t want him to end up hurting anybody… Especially not Lloyd.” She mumbled.

“I know I don’t either but I mean… I think if he really wanted to hurt him he would have already? Or something.” Kai sighed, gently squeezing her shoulders. “We’ll just keep an eye on everything, make sure everything's going smoothly and see for ourselves what the guys like when it's our turn. Alright?” As his sister nodded in response, he smiled slightly, softly suggesting, “how about we watch some shitty romance movies or something? Get your mind off this stuff?”

Nya couldn’t help the grin that came to her. “But you hate those movies.”

“I know.” Kai smiled. “But I think I can suffer through a few for my best little sis.”

Nya was quickly able to relax, leaving the worries about Morro behind. Surely they’d come back, and eventually it was a problem she’d have to face, but for now she chose to let her brother take care of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Sorry if this seems like a filler chapter or something? I didn't try to make it seem that way, but reading it over while editing made me unsure.  
> I hope you all enjoy nontheless, great things are to come!


	10. Chapter 10

“I can’t believe this…” Morro grumbled.

“Just try for their sake, okay?” Lloyd murmured in response.

Jay had taken them to an amusement park. Zane and Cole had been dragged along as well, and to say the least, Morro felt extremely out of his element. He wasn't used to hanging out with multiple people at once, and he _definitely_ was not used to being at a park like this. Loud, noisy, and far too many people for his liking… But Lloyd was here with him so, there was a silver lining at least.

Lloyd offered to pay for him, but Morro just made a remark about “which one of us has a job” then paid for himself. Jay was basically bouncing in place as he waited, babbling on and on about this thing and that. He ended up talking about Nya and their first date to this very amusement park. “This where I first asked Nya out officially, our first date really, did you know she kissed me on a rollercoaster? Yeah it was weird, I thought it'd be more romantic, like on the ferris wheel at night or something but no, she kissed my cheek while I was screaming.”

Morro tried to tune out Jay's rambling, the amount he cared about what the redhead was saying was minimal, but he couldn't talk to Lloyd because he was listening to Jay's story attentively. There's Lloyd being the good friend he is for you. Morro sighed, keeping his arms crossed defensively over his chest. Maybe if he looked antisocial enough nobody would speak to him. Of course he was wrong.

“So, Morro, I overheard you say you had a job.” Zane smiled at him. “May I ask where you work?”

Morro was surprised, glancing at him with wide eyes. “Oh, uh, I work at the tea shop in the corner of town…”

“Well a tea shop sounds better than the grocery store.” Zane chuckled.

“Do you work at the grocery store?”

He nodded, though didn't seem very excited about it. “It's extremely dull. I only restock shelves all day.”

Cole didn't talk much, but he did comment every now and then as Zane and Morro got into a conversation about work. It was… actually alright Morro was surprised to find. Cole apparently would walk dogs for people to make money, saying life kept him a little on the busy side for anything too demanding of his time. He liked it though and knew basically all the dogs within walking distance of their college. When their conversation ended, thanks to Jay loudly interrupting to announce the fair games he wanted them to play before any rides, Morro found himself having enjoyed the casual talk more than expected.

He noticed Lloyd grinning at him, and rolled his eyes. “Okay… Maybe this isn't _horrible_ ,” he glanced back at Lloyd as he said it, smiling to see the happy light in the blonde's eyes.

Lloyd's smile only grew. “I knew you guys would get along if you'd just talk to each other.”

The day went fairly smoothly afterwards. Jay willingly paid for them to play any stupid fair games he wanted them to join him in. One that was competitive, Morro actually beat them all in, which lead to praise for him while he was trying to hide a grin. He got to pick a prize, which he just grabbed the weirdest thing he saw then immediately handed it off to Lloyd. “I don't know what the fuck this is but it's yours now.”

Getting Morro to actually get on rides was difficult. He didn't like the look of most of them, but the tamer ones he let himself be dragged onto. He also allowed one rollercoaster ride at Jay's insistence but then almost puked after so they decided not to force him onto anything else that was super fast, or went upside down. Aside from that moment, Morro seemed to actually enjoy himself. Lloyd was proud to see him interacting with the other three with no need of a push from him to do so. What was even better was seeing them all laughing together. He was glad Morro had relaxed so much in the time they were spending with the three, surprised it hadn’t been harder. Lloyd did have to say, he had to thank Zane partially for Morro opening up so much. Nobody would start a conversation with him at first except the blonde, and after he got Morro talking, everyone seemed to relax and forget about their worries.

Towards the end of their visit, they were all sitting at a table, each with their own share of the horribly greasy or overly sugary amusement park food that was served here. Morro hadn’t really wanted anything much, but he did have a small bag of candies at least. Jay had probably the biggest cotton candy Lloyd had seen someone hold ever, meanwhile Cole and Zane were being over dramatic sharing curly fries but pretending it was spaghetti so they could be the lady and the tramp. They had no care for who saw their completely open displays of affection.

Going home was fun in its own way, as they all got to ride in Jay's car together. Jay had a thing for playing music from his phone too loudly, which consisted mostly of Taylor Swift pop songs that he knew all the words to. Eventually, Cole had enough, stating, “if i hear one more Taylor Swift song I'm jumping out of the car.”

Jay rolled his eyes. “Okay, okay.” He glanced at Morro, who'd been given the front seat. “Morro? You have any music on your phone?”

Morro perked, “uh, yeah.”

Jay tilted his head in the direction of the cord connecting his phone to the car radio. “Why don't you plug it in and play something!”

Morro seemed unsure, saying “oh, uh, I don't know if my music is shit you guys would really like…”

“I gotta listen to Cole's screamo weird stuff all the time on trips, I can handle anything.” Jay reassured with a wide smile.

Morro didn't say more, just nodding slowly. He unplugged Jay's phone to plug in his before silently scrolling through music trying to pick something. He mumbled something like, “this should be fine…” before tapping on it.

It was barely five seconds into the song before Cole nearly threw himself into the front seat. “Morro, dude, holy shit is this Get Scared?!”

Morro went wide eyed, turning in his seat to look back at Cole. “Yeah, do you like them?!”

“I fucking _love_ them.”

Zane sighed, smiling as he looked between the two. “I think a new friendship was just created.”

Lloyd was grinning, happy to see Cole and Morro launching into a conversation about their favorite songs from said band. Not only was he proud of Morro being more social, he was ridiculously happy his friends seemed to be loosening up around him finally.

Jay raised a brow slightly at the music playing, trying to smile but it came out more like a grimace. “Oh yeah this music is… _Lovely_ …”

 

When they got back, they all waved goodbye to each other before heading off to their own rooms. Morro seemed so much happier than he'd been that morning when they headed out, a smile resting on his face as they came back to their room. Lloyd was grinning at him, and it must have been obvious as Morro glanced at him and just asked with a smile, “what the hell's with that face?”

Lloyd tried not to bounce in his excitement, clapping his hands together. “You had _fuuuun_.”

Morro narrowed his eyes at him, but the smile didn't leave him. “Yeah… Yeah, maybe I did,” he admitted.

“I think you and Cole are gonna get along really well.” Lloyd stated as he plopped onto his bed.

“He seems pretty cool… I'd like that.” Morro said, before heading to the bathroom. “I'm gonna fix my makeup, do you wanna eat out today?”

“I don't see why not!”

\-----------------------

It had been a few days since their little adventure with Jay, Cole and Zane, and Lloyd was happy to see that the trip seemed to have worked. The three would actually say hi to Morro if they ever ran into him. Jay didn't spend much personal time with them, but only because of being busy and time he wanted to spend with Nya. Cole and Morro became quick friends, with a shared music taste to bond over. It wasn't long before they figured out they liked the same movies as well, and Cole decided a movie night needed to happen. Zane told Lloyd he didn't quite enjoy the same genres as Cole did, so he was glad he had someone he could enjoy them with now.

Kai had texted Lloyd that at the end of the week, he was throwing a party with Skylor and that he and Morro should _totally_ come. Lloyd had thought about it, unsure what Morro would think of going to a party after his previously stated distaste. He then decided Kai was trying his best with this offer, so why not. If they ended up hating it they could always leave. He texted Kai back saying they'd be there.

The next few days before the party was spent mostly getting to spend time with Zane and Cole, with one random appearance by Jay, and a visit to Wu. Zane and Cole were very inviting, happy to spend time with the pair. Jay had one instance of dropping by their dorm to say hi, hung out for a bit, before having to run to go meet up with Nya. Lloyd had asked Jay privately if Nya was any closer to at least trying to give Morro a chance, and simply just the facial expression Jay made in response was answer enough. Lloyd wasn't sure if Nya would ever be able to warm up to his friend.

Lloyd glanced down at his phone when it dinged with another text. He still hadn't rejoined the group chat his friends had made, but they did privately message him now and then. This time it was from Cole, saying he was on campus walking dogs, asking if he and Morro would want to come say hi.

“Hey Morro, do you like dogs?”

Morro looked up at him from where he lay on his bed, on his phone as well. “Uh, sure. Why?”

“Cole's got dogs with him outside right now, he's offering to let us see them.” Lloyd explained.

Morro seemed to be contemplating it a few moments, frowning a bit. He pushed himself up with a small sigh, “I don't see why not. Cole's cool.”

“I'm really happy you like him.” Lloyd stated honestly.

Morro smiled slightly, “I'm glad he likes me.”

They found Cole easily once they went out to the courtyard, anyone could see him and his horde of dogs from a mile away. Once they got closer, it was easy to tell it was really only 7 dogs, only one of them actually being a huge dog. There was quite the assortment of breeds, the large dog a German Shepherd, two corgis, a chihuahua, a Pomeranian, and a Scottish Terrier. Cole seemed tired but happy, waving at them as they approached. “Hey!”

Morro could tell almost immediately when Lloyd saw the dogs, that Lloyd was an animal person. The grin that split his face was unbelievably wide, and he had no issue dropping to the ground to happily greet each dog. They swarmed him like a bees, attacking his face with licks and kisses though he didn't seem to mind as he was giggling when they did it. God why the hell did Lloyd have to be so _cute_.

“Hey Morro, what's up?” Cole greeted him, a friendly smile on his face.

“Not much. Gotta get work done.” Morro admitted, absentmindedly brushing his hair out of his face with a hand. He glanced at the dogs, and Lloyd who was fully on his back now, the chihuahua was standing on him. “You've got quite the little crew here.”

Cole glanced at them, chuckling. “Yeah, they're my lil buddies. They're all nice, I didn't get any of the aggressive ones today.”

“Aggressive ones…?” Morro raised a brow.

“Trust me, you have no idea what my job is like until you've been dragged down the street by a very over excited poodle,” Cole said it in a very serious tone. He looked at Morro, appearing like he was squinting as I'd examining something for a moment before asking, “do you do your own makeup?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.”

“Oh that's sweet as hell man! Have you ever-” Cole yelped, nearly falling over when one of the dogs pulled on their leash too hard. He yanked them back towards him in response with a huff. “Okay, as I was saying, have you ever considered joining the drama club?”

“Uh, no…” Morro was confused why he would ask.

“They'd totally dig having another makeup artist on the team.”

Morro's eyes widened. “Oh! Oh my gosh, are you serious?”

“Totally! I could introduce you, everyone there's chill. You don't even gotta act in anything if you don't wanna.” He grinned. “I'll text you when a good time would be? Just have Lloyd send me your number.”

Morro was nodding before he even finished speaking. “Yeah! Yeah of course, wow, I'm… Thank you.”

“Don't mention it!” Cole grinned, before glancing at a now thoroughly messy Lloyd. He pulled the dogs off of him, “okayy fellas, I gotta get you lot back to your home's.”

Lloyd sat up, smiling like an idiot. “Thanks for letting us see them Cole.”

Morro covered a small laugh, trying to hide his amusement. “Lloyd, you have a literal pawprint of dirt on your face.” He knelt down to the ground with him, using a hand to wipe the dirt off his cheek. “I guess your way more of an animal nerd than I am, huh?”

“Ahaha, I'm not that much of a nerd… I just really like dogs.” Lloyd replied, barely even reacting to the hand on his face as if it were normal.

Cole raised a brow at their interaction, smirking to himself a bit. “So, you guys off to see Kai next?”

“Yup! Two days then we're going to his party.” Lloyd responded. “Do you think you guys will be there?”

“Eeehhh, me 'n Zane don't really dig crazy wild parties like Kai does. We're probably gonna stay in on Friday… Do cheesy couple stuff.” Cole laughed slightly, before adding, “I gotta go, but catch you guys later!”

They both gave their goodbyes before Morro turned his attention back to Lloyd. “How on earth did you manage to get this dirty so quickly?”

“It's a gift~”

Morro laughed, rolling his eyes. “You better fucking shower when we get back. Our room doesn't need to smell like dog.”

\----------------------------

Cole came back into his and Zane's dorm with a sigh. He looked up as the blonde approached him, having been cleaning, like he often liked to do. “Hello love,” Zane greeted softly, Cole meeting him halfway with a kiss. “How'd the walk go?”

“I didn't trip or get pulled down a street this time!” Cole announced proudly. “I also had Lloyd and Morro come see the dogs.”

“Oh? Did they enjoy it?” Zane asked as he went back to the cleaning and reorganizing he'd been doing.

“Lloyd had fun. I told Morro about the makeup for drama club idea. He seems down for it.” Cole took a big breath, plopping down onto his bed with a sigh. “I think I realized something today while watching those two.”

“Hm?”

“They totally like each other.”

“Oh, it took you this long to figure that out?” Zane made it sound like it was obvious.

Cole gave him a shocked expression at that. “What?! You knew that this whole time?”

“Well have you seen the way they look at one another?” Zane gave him a look. “Reminds me of a certain someone staring at me when he thought I wasn't looking.”

“Oh my god, don't tease me about this.”

“I only tease because I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long aaaahhh!!!!  
> Sorry again if this chapter seems sorta filler-y??  
> But Morro getting to be buddies with the others on the ninja team is kindddaaaa important my dudes.
> 
> Trust me, next chapter should be more exciting (and also coming out sooner cause I actually wrote chapter 11 before chapter 10, but I need to edit it still before posting it oops)
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter, leave a comment with your thoughts!


	11. Chapter 11

“I don't want to be here.” Morro grumbled, staring at the door in front of them.

“I don't really either but… This is Kai's way of trying to get to know you.” Lloyd sighed, frowning nonetheless. “Let’s just try. We can leave if it gets too crazy.”

Morro grimaced but caved in, nodding slowly. “Alright… We're already here I guess.”

Lloyd nodded in agreement, lifting a hand to knock several times. He wondered if anyone would even hear it, considering it sounded like there was loud music playing from inside the house. Surprisingly enough, the door swung open, and Skylor Chen of all people was the one standing there. She seemed friendly enough, smile warm when she saw them. “Oh hey, you're Lloyd, right?” When he nodded, she continued. “Kai's told me about you! I'll get him one sec.”

Lloyd glanced at Morro, who already looked immensely uncomfortable. Skylor hadn't even looked at him, though whether that was a good or bad thing was up to debate. Soon enough, Kai was stepping out with a huge grin as he hugged Lloyd, “Lloyd! I can't believe you actually came!” He glanced at Morro, and though it didn't sound as friendly, he greeted him still. “Morro, I see you're here as well.”

“Mhm,” was Morro's stiff response.

They were both dragged in after Kai, their host babbling to them about who knows what, his voice drowned out by the buzz of chatter and music surrounding them. Morro looked unnerved, glancing down uncomfortably as they weaved through all the people. Lloyd discreetly took one of his hands as they trailed behind Kai, hoping he could help him feel at least a bit more comfortable.

Kai ended up showing them around a bit, showed them where food and drinks were, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, as he was fully aware Lloyd wasn't old enough to drink yet. Morro, being two years older than Lloyd, was and definitely took advantage of it. Drink away your anxiety, that was his plan.

It turned out to be a pretty calm get together compared to what Lloyd expected, though when he said this Morro reminded him nobody was drunk enough for anything chaotic to happen yet. Morro himself was still unhappy to be there, but he seemed more calm with something he could hold in his hands and focus on. He and Lloyd mostly kept to themselves, observing the other people there. Lloyd found Morro really did know a lot of people, naming off different popular kids he recognized. To say the least, he was a little impressed by how many faces and names Morro knew.

“Considering this is supposed to be Kai's way of getting to know me, he sure hasn't been around much huh.” Morro grumbled after a while.

“I'm sure he'll show back up.” Lloyd reassured, giving him a small smile.

As if he'd somehow heard them, Kai showed up again, very obviously having been drinking, but not quite enough to be considered drunk yet. “You guys, we're playing games, it's gonna be great, come with me.” They didn't really have any choice but to follow him, Morro grimacing at the mere mention of party games.

They were pulled into a room where a fairly large group was sitting in a circle. For some reason nobody was sitting on the couches in there, so Morro and Lloyd just took a spot in front of one and used it as a backrest. Kai didn't sit with them, going to an empty spot next to Skylor, leaning over to whisper to her. She started giggling and Lloyd couldn't help but smile, while Morro couldn't help but roll his eyes at the very obvious affectionate displays between them.

Skylor was the one who got up to explain the game, shouting until everyone shut up and listened to her. “Okay, we're going to be playing truth or dare.” Morro's expression contorted into something even more disgusted. “Except, with a twist. If you skip on a dare or won't answer a truth, you have to take a shot.” She grinned, gesturing to Kai who held up the shot glasses they'd brought with them.

Morro buried his face in his hands. “For fucks sake,” he grumbled.

Lloyd gently patted his shoulder, “we can leave if you want?” He suggested.

Morro brushed his hand off, crossing his arms grouchily. “No, we're already here. I'll play the stupid damn game.”

Lloyd frowned slightly, but just sighed. “Alright.”

Kai declared Lloyd was the exception to the drinking, and when some people tried to complain he explained Lloyd was 19. He gave Lloyd a bottle of soda, telling him softly to ignore anyone who tried telling him to drink illegally, before returning to his spot.

Kai started, asking someone Lloyd didn't know something about her love life. She flipped him off before willingly taking a shot glass from him and downing it immediately. As soon as she was done she flung almost the same question back at him. Kai stuttered, before sighing and snatching the glass from her.

Lloyd found it was rather easy to relax for a bit, nobody aiming any questions at him or Morro at first. Though thinking about that of course only led to someone asking him something. The girl asking him was obviously drunk, slurring her words and giggling. “So Lloyd, you're a pretty cute guy, you got a special someone~?”

Lloyd blushed at the compliment, grinning sheepishly. “O-Oh, well, no I'm not dating anyone if that's what you're asking.” He noticed Morro downing his drink next to him, seeming tense again despite they'd both just been at ease. He didn't have time to question it as the girl asked him another.

“Do you like somebody?”

“Uh, I…”

“Hey, one question per person!” Kai shouted.

The very next guy asked the same exact thing.

“Um.” Lloyd glanced away, face heated to the point he knew he had to be blushing. He quickly picked up his soda and took a sip before saying. “No comment.”

A string of “oooooo”s broke out, a few people grinning at him knowingly. Morro didn't do anything except set down his now empty cup and cross his arms over his chest tightly.

More questions, and eventually dares were thrown his way throughout it, and he was able to do most of them after that first one. Morro was getting them too, though he refused to do any, which was leading to a _very_ drunk Morro. It was a strange sight to see. He was a ridiculously giggly drunk, but somehow still managed to be grumpy regardless of his laughter at everyone else's ridiculousness. Lloyd was just glad he seemed to be having more fun now.

Eventually a few people reached a point where Skylor decided they were too drunk and should be done with the game, escorting them out. While she was in this process, a trio of friends seemed set on trying to get Morro to do something.

“Okay, you gotta answer SOMETHING. Have you ever dated somebody?”

“Not answering that.”

The next one asked, “have you ever kissed somebody?”

Morro groaned, “yeah definitely not answering that.”

The third one took a bit, squinting at him as they waited until after he accepted the shot glass from Kai. They leaned forward, saying evenly, “I dare you to kiss someone.”

Morro narrowed his eyes at them, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the couch behind him. “You're not gonna stop, are you?”

They seemed surprised he didn't immediately say no, though maybe his drunken state was finally getting to him. They grinned, “nope. Not until you do something.”

He stared at them, expression unreadable, before finally grumbling, “fine.”

A bunch of people dramatically gasped, a few others cheered. Lloyd didn't really know what to think, shocked Morro agreed to a dare of all things. He was even more shocked when he turned to _him_.

“Lloyd,” He murmured, hand turning his face towards him. Lloyd didn't even have time to think or react, eyes widening and face flushing as he just went for it immediately. It wasn't the most perfect kiss in the world, but that really didn't matter. Lloyd felt like his brain had just short-circuited.

A series of cries and cheers and laughter broke out. It all felt distant, everything bleeding away because Lloyd felt like he could only focus on the guy who'd just _kissed him_. Morro broke away, but didn't move far, hand still on his face. “Uh… Lloyd, I… um.”

Lloyd felt a smile pull at his lips, something soft and warm. “Did you only do that because you wanted to?” He asked quietly.

Morro opened his mouth but no words came out, he closed it and swallowed thickly, his nerves suddenly getting to him. Lloyd laughed softly, that being all the answer he needed before leaning forward to peck him on the lips once more. Everyone around them basically screamed at that. Morro, meanwhile, went red in the face and immediately hid his head in his hands. “Oh god,” he wheezed through his fingers before breaking into more drunken giggling, falling against Lloyd. This led to giggling on Lloyd's part as well, and soon enough they were both laughing like idiots.

Someone, Lloyd didn't see who, shouted, “we got a new couple on the rise~!”

The rest of the night felt like it bled together into a silly, fun, mess, Morro and Lloyd laughing along with the rest at the shenanigans that ensued. Morro started actually answering questions too, whether that was his drunken state, or his giddiness after the kiss that occurred was unknown to Lloyd, he was just glad they could have fun. He learned a few things about him that night, learning apparently he'd originally planned to dye red in his hair then chose green to be more unique. He also found out apparently Morro really enjoyed reading fantasy novels. Morro ended up admitting that he'd kissed someone before, but then said something about Lloyd being the much better kissing option, which led to more stupid giggling and blushing.

“Yeah he was an asshole anyways,” Morro continued on, somehow having ended up laying on his back across Lloyd's legs during the game, hair splayed out across the floor beneath him. He was stumbling through his words, obviously not thinking too hard on what he said. “Fuckinnng… asshole man. He just got so pissed off whenever I did the _wrong thing_ ,” he made a mock voice of this mystery person, waving his hands dramatically as he pretended to speak as them, “oh but Morro you're so bad at this, Morro why can't you do this right, Morro your so bad with your mouth-”

Lloyd was trying not to laugh as Morro kept going on into a drunken ramble, which somehow went from that to talking about how much he hated horses, but a part of Lloyd was concerned of who this mystery person was… He had a feeling he already knew. He might have to ask Morro about it again when he was actually sober.

 

Everything came to a screeching halt when someone asked a question they shouldn't have asked.

“So, Morro is it true you almost killed someone?”

Even Lloyd went tense at that, staring at the guy who said it with wide, appalled eyes. Morro's grip on his arm was so tight it was painful, but he didn't even care. He could feel Morro shaking against his side, and if he looked at him he'd see the wetness forming in his eyes. He pushed himself up wordlessly, pulling Morro up with him and walked out, a tense angry silence left in his wake. He heard Kai as they left, “dude what the fuck?? Wait, Lloyd, _wait wait_ -”

Lloyd ignored him, leading Morro out. They didn't speak to each other as they left, Morro simply clung to him and Lloyd placed a hand over the ones gripping his arm. They were heading back towards their building. It was already dark out, the time having flown away.

“L-Lloyd…”

“Shh. Ignore what he said, he doesn't know anything.”

They fell back into silence until they got to their room, which was when how much Morro drank finally caught up with him. It led to Lloyd holding back his hair as he kneeled in front of the toilet, body forcing all that he'd consumed out of his body. It didn't help on top of this, he'd started crying again. Lloyd just sat behind him, patiently waiting. He could feel anger trying to rear its head inside him, angry at the person who asked what they did, angry Morro had actually been enjoying himself just for that to happen.

Morro eventually got up, going to his bed. Lloyd followed him, sitting on the edge of the mattress as he laid down. He curled into a ball, wrapping his arms around himself. He continued to shake with silent tears and Lloyd didn't know what to do other than be there. After a while, he tried to say something to take Morro's mind off of what that guy had said, just what first came to mind. “So... why did you kiss me?”

Morro laughed softly, rolling onto his back to look at Lloyd. His eyes were reddened and puffy, makeup smudged, his expression a mixture of upset and amused. “You're the only one I trusted there.” He looked at the ceiling rather than Lloyd's face as he continued. “And… you're really attractive.” He hesitated, before adding. “And… I might like you?” he laughed again, but the laugh sounded more miserable than his last one. “Isn't that stupid?! Liking you? Me?” His smile was twisted, looking more like a grimace. “I-Im so stupid. There's no way someone like you could ever… e-ever…”

“Morro…” Lloyd stared at him, seemingly in awe. His voice was quiet, “what do you mean I could never? I've liked you for awhile.” Morro's eyes went wide, turning back to him. “I mean, I kissed you back, didn't I?”

It was Morro's turn to stare in awe, mouth slightly agape in shock. “But… Me? Why would you like me, I'm, I'm so-”

“Amazing.”

“What? No-”

“Beautiful.”

“Oh my god.” 

“Stunning in every possible way.”

“Now you're just being sappy.”

Lloyd grinned, “yeah, maybe a bit.” He lifted a hand, brushing Morro's hair off of his face. “But it's still the truth.”

Morro rolled his eyes, but leaned his head into Lloyd's palm despite it. “You sure about that?”

“Positive.” He murmured softly.

Eventually how late it was caught up with them, both dozing off together. Lloyd didn't end up making it back to his bed, staying as a warm, comforting figure next to Morro. They were both able to sleep easy, Morro tucked against Lloyd's side, a soft smile on his face. They weren't sure what to do with what they'd confessed to right then, but it felt like the beginning of something special.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO! another chapter super soon, as promised.
> 
> I don't have a lot to say here other than YAY THEY FINALLY SMOOCHED!!!
> 
> Things are gonna start to get a little more intense with the coming chapters :3c
> 
> Please leave a comment with your thoughts!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI SORRY ITS BEEN 12 BILLIONS YEARS SINCE I UPDATED AGAIN.
> 
> I'll try to get these next few chapters out faster, but I cant promise anything, sorry y'all;;

“Sis, please.”

“No.”

“He's a chill dude, I promise.”

“I said no!”

Nya was being extremely stubborn, and no matter who talked to her, she refused to give Morro any time to try and prove himself a good person. She was stuck entirely on what she had witnessed him do. Kai couldn't really blame her, he knew it had to be traumatizing to witness someone attacking another like that… But he wanted her to feel safe around Morro. He'd been trying to observe the guy now that he was hanging out with their group more, and he seemed really chill. He liked makeup and edgy music, but he would joke around, complain about classes, and mumble about how he needed more sleep as much as any of them. He was… shockingly normal.

The rumors against him had built him up to seem like this cold, heartless monster, someone you don't even dare get near for fear of being lashed out against. Actually hanging out with him proved he was just an exhausted college student like the rest of them.

Kai sighed. “You won't even give him a chance…?”

“I don't trust him Kai!” Nya snapped.

Nya's shift had ended at the cafe, Kai was waiting for her, and of course they ended up having this argument again. They kept disagreeing on it, and Kai had a feeling it was about time he give up and stop nagging her about it. She was obviously not going to budge on her stance, and Kai was tired of arguing with her every time they were around each other. He knew his sister well, and he knew when to give up on trying to change her mind about something.

He pulled out his phone, opening his messages to text Lloyd.

 **Fire man** : hey man nya isn't changing her mind at all :(

 **Lord Garmotron** : That's okay! You tried. At least the guys are okay with him now.

 **Fire man** : yeah

\----------------------------------

 

Lloyd sighed, tucking his phone away. Jay glanced at him, “what's wrong?”

“Kai said Nya's not gonna change her mind.” Lloyd replied, frowning slightly.

Jay smiled weakly. “Sorry I can't reassure you much, cause he's probably not wrong… I've been dating that women for years now, when she decides something she doesn't easily change her mind on it.”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

They were currently hanging out in the drama department, Cole was busy introducing Morro to the other makeup artists while the other two waited. Zane would have been there too if he wasn't at work. Lloyd was happy to see the drama kids seemed very open to Morro, not reacting at all how he expected them to. Cole saying he was a good guy seemed good enough for them, and they were already acting like Morro was one of their crew, laughing, chattering and pulling him by the arm excitedly to show him everything. Lloyd had been a little concerned about the touching without asking, as Morro had reacted badly to that in the past… If the way he was smiling and talking to them was anything to go by, he was doing fine. Maybe he was too distracted by the fact he had new friends to mind it.

Lloyd and Jay followed the babbling make up artists and Cole, to the backstage area where the makeup rooms were. Lloyd had honestly never seen a room so bright. There were mirrors lining the walls above tables that were all along the walls. Lights lined the edges of the mirrors as well, and when they were turned on it was almost blinding. 

One of the girls, nicknamed Tox, with hair dyed a bright green and makeup on her face that honestly reminded Lloyd of how Morro did his, was showing off her personalised work section. She pulled a box out, and upon opening it, revealed it folded out into several layers that held different sizes brushes and different types of makeup and colors for several uses. The other girl, with purple hair who introduced herself as Chamille, was showing Morro pictures of the work they'd done off her phone. The way Morro's face lit up warmed Lloyd's heart. 

When they were finally leaving (more so finally being allowed to leave by the theater girls), they waved goodbye and headed out with Cole and Jay leading the way. Morro talked excitedly to Lloyd, telling him about what the girls had been showing him with a wide grin. It was the most animated the blonde had ever seen him in all honesty.

“Where we wanna go, the café?” Jay asked over his shoulder to Cole and the pair behind them.

“Café.” Cole agreed.

Lloyd glanced to Morro, waiting for him to say something, and after a hesitant nod he smiled and said, “the café sounds great Jay.”

As they left the theater building and headed out into the cold air of fall, Morro shifted closer to Lloyd and his hand sought out the blondes. Lloyd happily turned his palm to fit against Morro's, their fingers sliding together easily. The smile that came to him was relaxed and at peace. It'd been like this ever since the confessions after Kai’s party. Morro would drift closer, be more open to small touches and hand holding. They hadn't kissed again after it, but Lloyd chose to let Morro set the pace for this. There would be no pressuring on his end for anything Morro didn't seek out first, and he was content with it being that way. Morro seemed the same, much happier ever since this began. He hadn't had any more breakdowns or nightmares recently, which was huge relief to the blonde.

“Hey, Kai’s gonna wait for us there!” Jay announced, looking back at them again. Lloyd gave him a thumbs up, and pretended to not notice the blue eyes that stared at his and Morro's intertwined hands before Jay turned back around.

He knew his friends knew. They weren't exactly good at hiding their looks, and he'd seen the glances and whispering to each other they'd done. At first he was worried, concerned a similar confrontation would come from this to the one he'd gotten when he had first become friends with Morro. Instead they left them be. Lloyd was thankful, and decided he didn't have to tell them anything right now.

Kai was waiting for them at their usual table, already having a cup sitting before him, as well as a textbook. He was frowning down at it, squinting as if that'd somehow make it make more sense. Cole laughed, sliding in next to Kai to peer over his shoulder. “Math kicking your ass?” Kai only gave an annoyed grunt in response. Jay had already disappeared to the front to order, though not in a huge rush since Nya wasn't working, already having left before they got there. Morro went to sit across from Cole and Kai, Lloyd staying standing as he checked how much money he had on him.

“What do you want?” He asked.

Morro perked, before saying, “uh, just hot chocolate is good for me.”

“Alright,” Lloyd said, smiling at him before going to order as well. Morro gave his own small, shy smile in response.

Cole had watched the interaction, and had to stifle his own grin. They reminded him so much of he and Zane at times, how could he not grin at that? He wondered if they thought they were being subtle, or if they were even trying to hide anything at all. He wouldn't be surprised at all if the latter was the case.

“Morro, you any good at math?” Kai asked.

“Uh, kind of?” Morro crossed his arms over the table, leaning forward slightly to look at his textbook. “What are you doing?”

He spun the book around, pointing out the problem he was stuck on, leading to Morro to squint at it just as Kai had been. Lloyd and Jay came back to the table together, just to see the three they'd left behind huddled around Kai’s textbook, deep in discussion. None of them really seemed to know what they were doing, but at least they were trying. Jay stole the book as soon as he sat down (not without a chorus of “ _hey_ ”s in protest), and after a few moments of glancing it over stated, “X equals 27.”

“How the hell do you know that?!” Kai looked annoyed, eyebrows drawn tightly together.

“It’s easy.” Jay leaned past Cole as he slid the book back to it’s original owner, launching into a complicated description of why it made sense and how to do the problem.

Lloyd scooted in next to Morro, handing him his hot chocolate while also half-listening to Jay. He didn’t totally understand all the math words leaving his mouth, but it was amusing to watch him talk and see everyone else share equally confused expressions. Morro seemed at least a little bit actually interested, eyes focused on Jay while he listened. Eventually they did move from talking about math and instead talked about other things. Kai asked Morro how meeting the theater kids went, and Morro was more than happy to talk about it. As they chatted, Lloyd watched them with a happy smile. His friends and Morro finally were getting along, and nothing could make him happier.

The two decided to head back to their dorm after hanging out at the café, waving goodbye as they headed out. They didn't talk much, but it wasn't awkward. They simply slid their hands together and enjoyed the silence. They didn't need words to enjoy each other's company. It was only when Morro froze up, stopping them both in their tracks that Lloyd turned and looked at him with concern. He'd halted them half way through the courtyard, and his eyes were wide, staring off at the other end of it.

“Morro?” Lloyd asked gently. He tried following his gaze, and saw a small group talking to each other. A guy with brown hair was staring back at Morro and slowly began to walk towards them.

The hand holding Lloyd's was shaking now. Morro whispered, almost too quietly, “Aiden,” and immediately Lloyd understood.

He looked back at the brunette approaching and gritted his teeth, an anger he didn't know he had flaring up within him. So this guy was the one who hurt Morro… He squeezed Morro's hand slightly, shifting closer to him. The protectiveness he felt for him overwhelmed all his other emotions. He was prepared to tell this guy to fuck off if he had to.

When Aiden got to them, he acted like Lloyd wasn't even there. “Morro, I'm surprised.” He sounded condescending, only making Lloyd angrier. “Thought you'd be kicked out by now.”

Morro didn't reply, eyes wide still. He looked like a deer stuck in the headlights.

Aiden lifted a hand, without even asking, and grabbed the green strands of Morro's hair. “Huh, I thought you stopped dying your hair this color. Didn't I tell you it's ugly?”

Lloyd's jaw dropped, his fury flaring up tenfold at that comment. Morro recoiled back, curling in on himself. “I… I like the color…” He mumbled timidly.

Aiden didn't get a chance to reply, Lloyd grabbing his wrist and pushing it away from his friend. “Hey, don't touch him!”

The brunette finally looked down at him, eyebrows raised slightly though he seemed unimpressed. “So you have midgets protecting you now?”

Lloyd wanted to snap at him that his height didn't matter, that he could beat him in a fight any day, but Morro spoke first. “He's… He's my friend.” This statement was said with a bit more confidence than his previous one, but was still quiet.

“Friend?” Aiden scoffed, cold gaze turning back on Morro. “Does he know what you did?”

The color drained from Morro's face, his voice dying in his throat. Lloyd stepped in, turning it back on Aiden. “Does anyone know what _you_ did?!”

“Like what? Loved this bitch when nobody else would?” Aiden didn't falter in his speech at all, words coming out annoyed and dark.

Lloyd began to step forward, teeth bared in anger. “What the fuck did you just say?!” He was halted by both of Morro's hands grabbing his arm, pulling him back.

“Lloyd… Let's just leave him alone…” His voice was weak, shaky… Scared.

Lloyd reluctantly let Morro tug him away, but his angry gaze stayed locked on Aiden as they turned to leave. Aiden just yelled after them, “go ahead! Run away again, I don't care.” Morro's hands on Lloyd tightened slightly and he picked up speed. He only let Lloyd go when they were back at their dorm, safely inside the room. He paced away, hands visibly shaking as he twisted them together nervously.

“He's horrible,” Lloyd stated angrily. He looked back when Morro didn't answer and saw him sitting on his bed, face held in his hands. He was trembling, breaths coming so quickly he bordered on sounding like he was hyperventilating. Lloyd frowned, and went to him, kneeling on the floor in front of him. “Can I touch you?” He asked softly. It took a bit, but Morro gave a slow nod. Lloyd lifted his hands, running them over Morro's arms in the best calming motion he had.

“I didn't think… I didn't… Oh god.” Morro sounded terrified, voice heightening in pitch as he spoke.

“It's okay…” Lloyd murmured, frowning while he searched his mind for what he could say in reassurance. “As long as I'm here, I won't let him ever touch you again. Okay?”

Morro nodded weakly, pressing the heels of his palms into his eyes. He didn't want to cry, not again, he cried too much already. He took a shuddering breath. “I can't believe he's back…”

“Yeah… If he starts anything we can get him in trouble.” Lloyd pushed himself up, sitting next to Morro on the bed now. “Have you ever… considered telling someone what happened?”

“NO.” It came out so harsh and loud it made both of them jump. Morro's hands fell from his face and he continued weakly, “no I… I don't think I can.” He let himself slump to the side, head falling against Lloyd's shoulder. “I'm scared.”

Lloyd frowned and didn't say anything else, simply put his arm around Morro. He couldn't blame him for being scared, and he certainly didn't want to force Morro to do anything he didn't want to do. He was worried, wishing he could do more, but knew the best he could do was support Morro… And make sure Aiden didn't get near him again as long as he was around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi if you liked it, please leave a comment !
> 
> I now have a Tumblr dedicated to my writing ^v^ its the same name as this account, so check it out if you want! (It doesn't really have many posts rn but yee)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for more vague talk on what happened to Morro this chapter, basically all the implied abuse n stuff

Morro became very uneasy after their brush with Aiden, and Lloyd took up walking him to wherever he needed to be regardless of if it would make him late to his own class. Similarly, he'd do his best to wait outside whatever building Morro's current class was in for him. Morro didn't voice it, but the thanks he felt was evident in the relieved smile he gave every time he saw Lloyd was waiting for him. Today was a rare day of Morro requesting to be left on his own for awhile. He reassured Lloyd quickly though, saying he'd made plans with Tox and Chamille. Lloyd had grinned at the news and let him go without another word. He could stand to show up for a proper ninja club meeting himself anyways.

 

Morro was happy he'd made friends with the theater girls. They were amazing. They were charming in every way and always smiling when they saw him. It made him almost feel special that they chose to like him. The girls had requested going out to eat together somewhere so they could run over the next play with him and see if he was up for the work they'd need. He'd agreed happily, though had no idea where they were going to take him to. He didn't really care, anywhere was fine.

They met him outside the drama department's building, both in casual wear. Chamille had a loose, navy blue jacket on over a plain purple shirt, along with light skinny jeans. Tox was wearing a green crop top, the bottom of it ripped to shreds, and loose, black, ripped jeans to match. Just looking at the pair they didn't seem at all like they would be seen together. It was funny to him almost, that now he was just another strange looking person joining their group, wearing basic shorts, a band t-shirt and one of Lloyd's dark green jackets. Really, the only thing all three of them had in common visually was dyed hair. They waved when they saw him and he tried to hurry so they wouldn't have to wait longer.

“Morro, good to see you man,” Tox greeted him with a grin. Up close he saw she was wearing bright green lipstick and had green eyeshadow around her eyes as well. A glance at her shirt and he noticed it had a toxic warning symbol on it. He was starting to see where she got her nickname from.

Chamille, who had been typing away on her phone, slipped it into her back jeans pocket. “We're taking my car, so follow me!” She smiled at him, wearing much more subtle makeup than the bright greens Tox had on.

Morro nodded and followed, unable to stop the smile that got stuck on his face. These girls were just so nice, and he felt like he'd finally found his people. “So, what kind of plays have you guys worked on before?” He asked, really wanting to actually talk with them.

“Oh gosh dude, all kinds of shit,” Tox replied. “I think we've done some Shakespeare before, and stuff like Wizard of Oz… buuuut a lot we try to do are smaller plays that aren't as well-known.”

“It's usually for fun when we do the lesser known plays,” Chamille added. “See if we can make it great even if it's not as popular.”

“That makes sense.” Morro was a little intrigued now, wondering what play they were planning for and were going to talk to him about.

When they reached Chamille’s car, he had to stop and stare in surprise for a moment. It was a huge truck, the entirety of it painted a dark, almost black, purple. He honestly hadn't expected something so big to be what Chamille drove every day at all. “Wow,” he murmured after a moment.

“I know right?” Tox laughed. “I wish I owned this baby,” she ran a hand over the side of the truck lovingly, sighing happily.

“You would paint it some horrendous shade of green, it's better you don't own it,” Chamille shouted across the truck as she hoised herself up into the driver's seat.

Tox pulled open the passenger door, snapping, “greens awesome and you know it!”

Morro hesitantly approached the truck, almost intimidated by size of it. He forced himself to open the door and crawl up into the backseats before making the girls wait too long. When he got in he heard they were still arguing about Tox’s choice in shades of green, and he smiled slightly. It was amusing to hear their back and forth, and while he was a lover of the color himself, he didn't like the bright, almost eye-straining greens Tox seemed so fond of.

As they headed out, he let himself zone out, the lull of the two in front talking fading to the back of his mind. His mind drifted to how different everything was now for him… He remembered he used to be so miserable he wasn't sure how he was still alive. He would have constant nightmares, he didn't have any friends, he was constantly afraid Aiden would magically appear in their room and everything would go back to how it'd been. Morro would be quiet, frightened, and listen to whatever Aiden told him because he was too scared not to. Aiden would be cruel, unstable and as unpredictable as he'd always been. Morro couldn't suppress the shudder that came to him just thinking back to those days and he chose to think of something else… like when Lloyd Garmadon walked into his life.

Lloyd had been so kind to him from the beginning, even when he snapped angrily at him and got defensive or angry. Lloyd just kept being so _nice._ Lloyd was the first real friend he'd had in awhile, and… Now thanks to him he had so many friends it was almost overwhelming. Lloyd was always gentle, calm, understanding… He made Morro feel like he was actually _loved_ , not whatever fake affection Aiden had shown him. It was… nice. Nice and also overwhelming, just like the friends he had now. He didn't understand what he did to deserve this. If anything, he deserved the worst after what he'd done. He winced to himself when he thought of it, flashes of memories of the pure rage he felt, of the feeling of slamming the rock down, of all the hands grabbing him and pulling him back.

He remembered in his out-of-it mental state at the time, he'd thought demons had crawled up to grab him and drag him into hell for the blood he'd spilled. He should have been scared but instead he'd felt nothing and simply let the hands take him.

“So,” he was jolted out of his thoughts by Chamille speaking to him. She had a sly smile on her face. “You and that Lloyd guy, hmm?”

Morro felt the blood rush to his face immediately. “I-I… Um…”

“I was at Kai’s party, I saw you two kissing it up,” She added, which didn't help the redness of his face at all.

Tox laughed, “oh, holy shit dude, thats right! That was _you_!” She turned around in her seat to grin at him. “Dude you are so lucky. That guy is cute as hell.”

“Oh my _god._ ” Morro sounded much more feeble than he wanted to, covering his face with his hands. He wanted to argue, to say something, _anything_ , but his words were stuck in his throat.

“Aw, hun we aren't making fun of you if that's what you think.” Chamille sounded sympathetic. “You really are both adorable around each other, he's great for you.”

Morro didn't know how to reply to that. Did his new friends _really_ have to have been at Kai’s party? If they were there they saw all of that and they saw him breakdown. They heard the question he'd been asked. _“So, Morro is it true you almost killed someone?”_ He could feel himself beginning to shake just thinking about it. Chamille and Tox… They had to know about what he'd done. There wasn't anyone who _didn't_ know what he'd done. His head started spinning and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

“Woah, dude are you okay?” Tox’s voice sounded too far away, drowned out by his now too loud thoughts.

“Ah shit.” Chamille’s voice was also distant to him, and he just barely realized that the car was being parked

It felt like forever but really was likely only a short time before he came back to himself. He realized someone was sitting next to him, and the car door was open. Tox stood in the doorway, a worried frown on her face. Chamille was next to him, a hand on his shoulder in reassurance, she looked worried as well. “Hey… You good now?” She asked softly.

He slowly nodded, and blinking his eyes he realized he had been crying. He felt stupid, having a breakdown literally right in the backseat of his new friends truck. He felt bad for making them worry about him like this. “I'm sorry,” he mumbled, lifting a hand to wipe at his eyes. He wished he could remember what happened better but the screaming of his thoughts had successfully drowned out everything else.

“No, it's okay,” Chamille said with a small frown. She was staring at him with analytical eyes, trying to discern what was wrong. “Did we say something we shouldn't have?”

He shook his head, shutting his eyes a moment as he tried to think. His brain felt slow, thoughts muddied and hard to get through. “Why don't… Why don't either of you hate me?”

He opened his eyes to see both of them staring at him in confusion. “Hate you?” Tox asked quietly.

“I… I just…” Morro struggled with his words, hands curling into fists out of frustration. “You know what I did don't you? With… With Aiden, and-and the rock, and…” He couldn't finish, throat tightening up just talking about it.

Chamille’s frown only deepened, and gently she pulled Morro to her side in a hug. “Oh honey… I'm sorry, we do know about it. But I never thought badly of you.” Morro noticed Tox was wearing an angry expression, but Chamille continued before he could question it much. “I noticed you had… Bruises.” She moved him, holding him at arms length next to her so she could look at him. “People don't just do what you did without a good reason, and I saw you every now and then before it happened. I noticed when you wore short sleeved shirts bruises were fading on your arms. When you finally snapped, I couldn't shake the feeling what I saw had something to do with it.”

Morro stared at her. He never thought someone noticed, because no one ever tried talking to him. Nobody ever offered him _help_.

“Was I… Right?” She asked slowly.

He nodded, still shaky. “If… If you noticed why didn't you…” He trailed off, and looked away.

Tox spoke up this time, “because I know Aiden and I told her not to.” Her tone sounded angry and upset. “He's dangerous and a jerk, I didn't want anyone I care about anywhere near him. I…” She paused, before sighing, and saying in a kinder tone, “I’m sorry if you didn't get any help because of me.”

They all fell silent after that, Morro trying to process what he'd been told. After the silence extended long enough, making him appear to have no response, Chamille lightly said, “we're here so… Why don't we go eat?”

He nodded, and soon they were all shuffling out of the truck. He looked up and realized it was some sort of basic, fast-food place. He didn't expect anything fancy, he didn't know if he could afford anything fancy, so this was good in his book. Soon enough they were seated together and talking about the new play as if the truck thing never happened. He was a little glad they didn't cling to it, he'd much rather forget he had a breakdown in Chamille's truck, but he also wanted to ask so many questions. Tox knew Aiden?? He was positive he'd remember her if Aiden had ever introduced them, so she must have known him before Morro got involved with him. He wanted to ask, but now wasn't the time. He tucked it away in his mind and decided he'd worry about it later.

\-------------------------------------

Lloyd had been spending the afternoon with the ninja club, which Nya had finally been convinced to join. She said she wouldn't attend every meeting, she was too busy for it but she would at least _humor_ Jay and Kai and show up for a few of them. They'd gone through some practices and taught Nya the basics, and now were just hanging out around the house. Wu was making tea for everyone in the kitchen. Jay and Nya sat on one of the couches in the living room, talking to each other with those big grins you get whenever you talk to the person you love. Cole was with Zane on the floor, they'd discovered cards and were playing some game Zane knew of. Lloyd was checking his phone, again, just to make sure Morro hadn't messaged him. There was no new messages, so with a sigh he put it away. He jumped when Kai suddenly spoke over his shoulder behind him, “somebody keeps checking their phone.”

“Ah! Kai!” Lloyd spun, and huffed when Kai laughed at his surprise. “I'm just worried if Morro's having a good time.”

“He's with his new makeup pals isn't he?” Kai asked. “He's probably fine.”

“He's just always seemed so uneasy around new people.” Lloyd frowned.

“Your a great boyfriend and all,” that earned Kai a light smack in the chest and a “he's not my boyfriend!”, but Kai continued without letting it stop him, “but I think you may be acting a little clingy. If he messages you, your phone will go off, so it's fine.” Kai leaned against the wall, looking down at Lloyd with a slight frown. “Though he has been acting a little weird lately.”

Lloyd glanced up at his taller friend. “You've noticed?”

“Yeah, I thought it was just him being, y'know, _him_.”

Lloyd frowned, and looked away. “No it's… Aiden. He's shown up again and Morro's been scared.”

Kai blinked slowly, before murmuring, “oh shit you're serious… Are you gonna tell everyone?”

Lloyd nodded, “I was going to text the group chat tonight… I didn't want to bring it up here because of Nya.”

Kai nodded, eyebrows furrowing together as he thought. “Man… This year has _not_ been going as smoothly as I thought it would.”

Lloyd laughed weakly. “You got that right.”

They both turned as Wu walked in, announcing he'd finished the tea. Their conversation ended as everyone got up at the same time to go to the table where their master was setting out teacups.

\-------------------------------------

Lloyd came back to his and Morro's room much later, having gotten distracted with his friends silly shenanigans. He'd realized it was getting late though and quickly headed out. As he said he would, he explained Aiden was back in their chat once he was away and had a second to think. He requested everyone to just be nice to Morro for now. When he opened the door he was surprised to see his roommate already back, laying on Lloyd's bed and staring blankly at the ceiling. Ever since Aiden’s return he hadn't gone back to his own bed, and Lloyd didn't ask him why. He had his suspicions that bad memories were associated with it. Lloyd didn't want to feel like he was invading Morro's space so sometimes he'd let him have the bed to himself and Lloyd would take up residence either on the floor or in the abandoned bed. Typically it'd be the floor. Something about the bed and what he suspected about Morro's avoidance of it rubbed him the wrong way, and trying to sleep in it just made him think too much.

“I didn't think you'd be here,” he said, pulling the door shut behind him. “Did you have fun?”

Morro glanced at him before pushing himself up into a seated position, legs hanging off the edge of the bed. He nodded, but voice was weak when he spoke, “I did.”

“Is everything okay?” Lloyd asked softly, noticing Morro was acting a bit off. He came to sit next to him on the bed, close enough to offer comfort if Morro wanted it.

Morro stared ahead, obviously thinking, and they sat in silence while he did. Finally, he quietly admitted, “I started crying in Chamille's truck.”

“Crying?” Lloyd asked with wide eyes, he didn't expect to hear that at all.

“They said they were at Kai’s party. I just started thinking about how they must have heard what… What the one guy said before we left. That they had to know what I did.” Morro continued to stare ahead blankly, as if he was still processing it.

“Oh…” Lloyd frowned a bit, wishing he could have been there.

“Chamille is nice… She hugged me.” Morro sighed, pulling his legs up onto the bed so he could hug them to his chest. “They told me Tox knew Aiden, and Chamille had noticed my bruises before I… Did what I did.” He rested his chin on his knees, contemplating his next words. “I think… I feel safer around them because they don’t like him either.”

“Well, that’s good,” Lloyd murmured, examining Morro’s face. He seemed distant, shaken almost, like he wasn’t sure what to make of it. “Are you okay though?”

Morro finally looked at him, eyes as stormy as they had been when Lloyd had first met him. He recognized that look, when Morro felt lost and all he had was the storm of thoughts and emotions inside him. Lloyd took a breath, before brushing Morro’s bangs out of the way and leaning forward to lightly kiss his forehead. “Try to rest, okay?” He murmured softly. “Nothing bads going to happen.”

Morro grabbed Lloyd's arm, keeping him from getting up. “Stay… Please.”

Lloyd looked back at Morro, but he had his head down, his curtain of hair hiding his face. Slowly the blonde nodded, taking a moment to kick off his shoes. He let Morro slide up against his side once he was laying down, he almost reminded Lloyd of a cat. Curled up on his side and pressed as close to him as physics would allow. He fell asleep quickly, seeming to relax as soon as Lloyd laid down with him. Lloyd sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Everything is gonna be okay…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed my name to Cylawings!!! Just so everyone knows yes this is still me
> 
> HERE'S TO FINALLY ADDING ANOTHER CHAPTER WOOOOO  
> I actually already have chapter 14 started but partway through I realized I needed to post this one  
> sorry if there's any mistakes, this wasn't super heavily edited ^^;
> 
> Please leave a comment with your thoughts if you liked it!
> 
> I also have a tumblr now, it's Cylawings just like my name here!! I don't post much but sometimes I'll make random posts as I work on this fic or I'll make other silly posts. That's all, until next time loves~


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO LOVES, PLEASE READ THIS NOTE BEFORE YOU READ THE CHAPTER!!!
> 
> Okay there's been some changes and adjustments, firstly, some new tags and a change in rating to mature.
> 
> All thanks to THIS chapter.
> 
> My big trigger warning is YES this chapter does have a suicide attempt in it (but also see that angst with a happy ending tag? Don't worry too bad-)
> 
> BUT, if you don't think you can handle the suicide attempt part, skip to the end after Morro leaves the drama department, I'll put a short summary of what happens in the end notes
> 
> Stay safe <3
> 
> (Also gasp look we know how many chapters are left now, 17, we're CLOSE)

With the approach of winter came the approach of Lloyd and Sensei Wu’s yearly day of memorial for Lloyd's father. The space they did it in wasn't too far away, just far enough to get away from the city and find peace and quiet amongst the nature to truly be alone with their memories. Lloyd felt bad he forgot about it, realizing he'd be gone all day and Morro would be left by himself. Maybe he could get his friends to hang out with him? He could also ask Morro to see if Tox and Chamille could spend time with him.

“I'm so sorry,” Lloyd said, after explaining he'd have to be gone all of the next day. “I totally forgot, but I can't just skip out on this and-”

“Hey,” Morro cut him off, tone sharp. “Stop freaking out. It's _fine <_.” He smiled a bit, placing his hands on Lloyd's shoulders. “It's obviously very important, don't worry about me. I can survive one day without you.”

It had been about a week or so since Morro's last breakdown, and he was back to his usual self. It helped they'd managed to completely avoid any more big run-ins with Aiden too. Small brushes here and there, but Lloyd had quickly learned to set aside his anger and walk faster with Morro to avoid him. Meanwhile, Morro had become a loved member of the drama departments makeup team. Apparently nicknames were common amongst them and he'd earned the nickname Ghost from Tox. She'd declared it was because of his dark clothing and makeup choices alongside how pale he was. Morro seemed rather prideful in earning the nickname, having told Lloyd about it with a proud grin set on his face.

Lloyd tried to relax. Morro had plenty of friends now, there was no reason to be so concerned. He could avoid Aiden with any of them as well as he could with Lloyd, and most of them knew about Aiden anyways. Like Morro said, he shouldn't worry.

He still made Morro promise he'd text him at certain times. Just in case.

He also got a promise from Zane and Cole that they'd spend their free time with Morro. They couldn't hang out all day, but a good chunk of their time around lunch was free. They said they'd be happy to hang out with him. Lloyd was eternally grateful to them.

“Hey Lloyd?” Morro sat up from where he'd been laying on Lloyd's bed with a book. “I was thinking.”

Lloyd looked up at him, having been sitting cross legged on the floor, at the end of the bed, while he worked on work that he'd miss the next day. “Yeah?”

Morro flopped over so he was laying with his head at the end of the bed where Lloyd was. He propped up his face with both hands. “If your gonna be gone all day tomorrow, you owe me a date tonight.”

Lloyd's eyebrows raised slightly in surprised. Morro actually called it a date… Did that mean they were _actually_ dating now? He blushed slightly at the thought. “Date…?” He asked, trying to make sure Morro meant it as an actual date-date.

Morro snickered, “don't look so surprised.” He pushed himself up, smiling widely. “Unless you don't want to.”  
Lloyd shook his head quickly. “No! I want to!”

“Okay! I have an idea.”

Morro, after they both got on proper clothes for how cold it was out, made them walk to a very nearby fast food place. Lloyd had been there a few times, his friends loved to eat there every now and then so he inevitably got dragged along. It was easy and cheap and not too far to walk to, which was probably what Morro was going for. It was freezing outside so the less they had to walk the better. Though Lloyd would be outside quite a bit tomorrow for his father's memorial, he was glad to spend today trying to stay warm at least.

They stayed close to each other's side, arms intertwined until they walked inside. Once in they pulled apart, mostly so Morro could get his money out and buy them something. They'd already eaten before, so they just decided something small, like a milkshake. You know, like cheesy couples do in movies.

They sat together at a booth in a far back corner of the diner once they got it. Morro happily slid into the cushioned seat next to Lloyd as soon as they sat, close enough their sides were pressed together again. He seemed so happy, which made Lloyd happy. Morro ended up asking what Lloyd and Wu did all day for the memorial. Lloyd happily explained, as it was something important to him.

They usually went up to a stone memorial they'd set up in the nearby forest, away from the main town so they would be unbothered. They brought lights and candles to light around it, as well as anything else they might want to leave for Lloyd’s father. Wu and Lloyd had a strong belief in the afterlife, believing loved ones were never truly gone, just departed from this realm. Often they'd take their time to tell the memorial what the year had been like, tell Garmadon whatever they would want to tell him had he still been with them. Lloyd liked to talk about his accomplishments and.his friends, while Wu would speak of what he'd learned and different meditation he had been practicing. Lloyd and Wu would spend a lot of time meditating there themselves, clearing their minds and connecting with the spirit they believed was still there.

“It all sounds a little silly probably,” Lloyd laughed softly.

“Not at all,” Morro reassured him quickly. “It sounds nice.”

Lloyd smiled, before sheepishly adding, “sometimes I feel like he's actually sending me signs when I talk to him… You know?” He sighed, running a hand down his face. “Yeah that… That sounds really stupid doesn't it?”

“No,” Morro said quickly, placing a hand on Lloyd's arm. “I think it makes sense, and I'm happy you have something like this you can go do. It's important to you, so there's no way any part of it can sound stupid to me. If you care about it, I care too.”

Lloyd glanced at him, feeling warmth in his chest at the words. He smiled. “Thank you.”

Morro smiled back, before leaning down just enough to kiss Lloyd. Lloyd's eyes widened, surprised as they hadn't actually kissed again since Kai’s party. He happily returned it, smiling against it. When Morro pulled away, he failed to hide his reddening face. “I… uh…” He trailed off, not knowing what to say, so instead he turned to milkshake quickly as a distraction.

Lloyd couldn't suppress the giddy giggle that escaped him, and the look he wore when he looked at his roommate was absolutely smitten. “Morro, I like you a lot.”

Morro glanced at him shyly, brushing his hair out of face to stare at Lloyd. “I like you a lot too.”

Lloyd tapped his fingers on the table, wondering if this would be a good time to voice some thoughts he had been having. “So… Does all of this,” he waved a hand, gesturing between them, “mean we're dating?”

Morro stared down at the table, seeming surprised into silence at the question. His eyebrows knitted together slightly, thinking. “Yeah… Yeah I guess it does, doesn't it?”

“Soooo… We're boyfriends now?”

Morro looked at Lloyd, and his mind spun for a moment. Boyfriends. This beautiful, amazing boy sitting next to him just asked him if they were boyfriends now. Were they? He guessed they were. They did everything a couple did really… It would feel nice to say Lloyd was dating him. It almost felt safe to imagine it, Lloyd his amazing, perfect, protective boyfriend…

“I guess we are, yeah.”

They stared at each other a moment longer, before both smiled. This felt right.

\-------------------------------------

Morro was woken in the earlier morning as Lloyd got up and prepared to leave. He pressed a kiss to his forehead, and Morro shot sleepy smile up at him. Lloyd murmured something about having a nice day, before grabbing his bag and leaving. Morro knew he told Lloyd was perfectly okay to go, that he knew this was important to him, but that didn't make him not feel at least a little sad over it. It was one day he reminded himself. 

He could survive that.

He stayed in bed awhile longer, before his alarm forced him up. He did actually have _classes_ today, even if he didn't want to go to them. He forced himself up, almost tripping over Lloyd's stuff left behind that he must have decided he didn't need. Something sitting just in view inside the bag left out caught Morro's eye, and he knelt down to pull it out. It looked wooden, and had _**Kai**_ carved into its side. Either a gift from him or for him if Morro had to guess. After a moment of examination, he realized it was a pocket knife and figured out how to make the blade snap out. He jumped when it did, before simply staring at the sharpened metal in shock.

He'd seen all sorts of blades before, Aiden had family who liked to collect very expensive, very dangerous looking weapons. They used to make him nervous when with Aiden, but here, alone, staring at this one felt… Different. He felt in control, like he was holding power in his hand just by holding this simple knife. Quickly he snapped the blade back into place, and put it back with a deep breath. He had no idea what that line of thought had been and he didn't want to find out.  
He wandered into the bathroom so he could pull out his makeup and get ready for the day. He had a feeling it was going to be a long one.

His classes went by quickly, and around lunch he met with Zane and Cole. To his surprise Jay was also with them, scribbling something down in a well-loved notebook as he looked back and forth between it and his laptop. Zane waved in greeting when he saw Morro, prompting him to approach and sit with them. “Hi,” he said quietly, still a little nervous around Lloyd's friends.

“Morro!” Cole grinned when he saw him. “What's up man?”

Morro smiled, Cole was the one he was really comfortable with, having spent more time with him since his joining of the drama departments makeup crew. “Nothing really. Boring classes so far today.”

“Is it weird Lloyd's not around?” Jay asked, peeking past his laptop.

Morro shrugged, trying to play it off as no big deal. “A little, but I'm fine.” He suddenly remembered Lloyd wanting him to text him now and then throughout the day, turning his head to the three sitting across the table from him. “Hey, is it alright if I take a picture with you guys?”

“What?” Zane asked.

“I mean-” Morro realized suddenly he probably should have explained. “It's just- Lloyd wanted me to text him a few times to reassure him I'm fine, and I thought he'd like it if I took a picture of all of us.”

Jay grinned immediately. “Hell yeah, group selfie time!”

The others agreed and Morro turned so he could take a selfie with the three behind him. He did his best smile, though he felt it wasn't as good as the bright, wide grins all of Lloyd's friends seemed able to muster up at any given moment. He snapped a few, and turned back around. “Thank you guys,” he said as he flipped through them to pick his favorite. He sent it to Lloyd and set his phone down. “So, where's Kai?”

“Working,” Cole answered around a mouthful of food, accidentally leading himself to almost choke and break off coughing.

“Swallow first dear,” Zane gently reminded him, patting his back.

Jay smiled, adding, “Yeah he and Nya usually work the first part of the days and take classes later. Kai has morning classes only one day I think.”

“Ah,” Morro twisted his fingers slightly, trying to think of what else to say. “Where does he work?”

“He wouldn't tell us,” Jay replied, sighing mournfully as he continued, “the mystery has caused me many sleepless nights.”

“Eh, it's probably some job he's afraid would hurt his image if anyone knew about it.” Cole shrugged. “He's obsessed with how people see him.”

That turned into a conversation about self-image, which somehow morphed into a conversation about other things. Morro ended up listening more than he actually spoke, but he was okay with that. As Jay got into an intense explanation of some sort of science, Morro felt his phone buzz. He flipped it over and saw Lloyd messaged him back.

**You look really pretty today <3**

Morro smiled without even realizing it, that usual warm happiness he felt thanks to Lloyd blooming in his chest.

\-------------------------------------

Lloyd slipped his phone away after replying to Morro. He was ridiculously happy when he saw the picture he'd sent, unable to contain his wide grin when he saw Morro and his friends all smiling at the camera. He also smiled because Morro really did look beautiful today. He looked that way every day, but after their official agreement they were boyfriends the previous night he almost felt like he saw Morro in a completely new light. He didn't know what it was about it, but he just felt like Morro almost seemed to glow with perfection and beauty. It was probably just evidence he really was head over heels for his roommate now.

“Are you done?” Wu called from the clearing he was seated in.

“Ah, yes Uncle.” Lloyd ran back to him, having stepped aside so he didn't feel like his texting would disrupt anything. They had spent most of their morning just cleaning fallen leaves and trash away from the area around the stone in memorial of Lloyd's father. They did it every year, out of respect for him to give him a clean place of rest and also an easier place for the pair visiting to sit at. They'd eaten food they'd brought with them, and were going to meditate for a long time now. The meditation made it feel easier to connect, then afterwards they would talk to him about whatever they wished.

Lloyd was a bit more distracted than usual, mind drifting back to his roomate even when he tried to focus and clear his head. Wu must have noticed, asking, “Are you struggling?”

Lloyd sighed. “Yes.” He glanced to his uncle. “I guess I just got really used to spending a lot of time with Morro.”

Wu smiled sympathetically at him. “Your father was just about as distracted from his training after he fell for Misako.”

Lloyd flushed, grinning sheepishly at having him and Morro be compared to his parents. “I guess like father like son?”

Wu chuckled, stating in agreement, “like father like son.”

\-------------------------------------

After lunch Morro left behind Cole, Jay, and Zane as he headed for the drama department's building. He didn't have any afternoon classes that day so why not check in with his new friends. He came into the building only to be met with two people he didn't know arguing in the middle of the first main room.

One was a girl, cloth wrapped around her head that hid her hair, sitting at a table with a sewing machine set up on it. He felt it was safe to assume she was someone who worked on costumes, as her hands were on something that was part way through the machine at the moment. The other was a guy, he stood tall, and even with a leather jacket pulled over his body, his muscular build was still very noticeable. Morro couldn't even really figure out what they were arguing about, he didn't think he wanted to know. He was stuck, frozen in the doorway and unsure how to proceed. The girl noticed him first, and once she stopped speaking the guy did as well, turning to look at Morro as he also realized he was standing there.

“Um…” Morro mumbled, shifting awkwardly under their intense gazes.

The girl spoke first, she didn't seem very expressive as her voice coming out neutral and dull. “Do you need something?”

“I, uh…” He tried to figure out what to say. He ended up just awkwardly pointing down the hall and stating simply, “Makeup crew.”

“He's here for Tox and Chamille~!” The man spoke this time, voice having a dramatic flair to it. Now turned towards Morro he noticed scruffy facial hair lining his jaw.

The girl didn't hesitate to turn and scream, causing Morro to jump as it was louder than he had expected, “TOX! CHAMILLE! SOMEONE'S HERE FOR YOU!”

After her screech familiars heads of dyed hair appeared, looking down the hall to the main room. Tox grinned, running out to nearly tackle Morro in a hug. “GHOST!! It's so good to see youuuuu!”

Chamille came out at a regular pace, but was smiling nonetheless. “Hi hon, doing well?”

Morro managed to nod at her past Tox’s head, who was still holding him. As quick as she'd grabbed him though, she released him to turn to the pair he'd witnessed arguing. “Y'all better not of scared him!!”

“We didn't,” the girl stated dully.

“Bansha might've scared him with her shrieking!” The guy interjected.

“Did not!” Bansha snapped angrily at him.

“Did too! Poor boy looks like a deer in the headlights!” He threw a hand out at Morro as he said it, as if that'd help make his point.

“Hey now,” Chamille interrupted, calm but stern. “Bansha, Soul, try to tone down the fighting mkay?” She became less stern as she smiled again, gesturing to Morro. “This is Morro-”

“Or my nickname for him _GHOST_!”

“Yes, thank you Tox-- He's a new part of the makeup crew.” Chamille then turned her smile to Morro, gesturing to the pair with them. “This is Bansha and Soul Archer. Both nicknames, you know how it is.” She giggled.

Tox added, “Bansha is realllyyyy good with clothes! She helps us with costumes, she's gonna be a famous _fashion designer_!!” She pointed at the man excitedly. “And that's Soul!! One of our actors!”

“I'm not going to become famous,” Bansha mumbled.

Tox shook her head, “nuh-uh, don't you dare start with that, you are.”

Soul threw his hand to his face dramatically, turning away as he faked a sob. “Remember me when your rich~!”

Bansha picked up a pencil and threw it at him.

Morro wanted to ask where their nicknames came from, but as if she could read his thoughts Chamille explained, “Soul Archer’s nickname comes from a part he played a year or so ago. He was an archer, and it became a running joke he put all his soul into the part.”

“And Bansha is like a banshee, that girl can SCREAM!” Tox laughed as she said it.

 _As I noticed_ , Morro thought to himself. “It's nice to meet you guys.” He offered them his best smile.

“Lovely to meet you as well Ghosty~.” Soul responded with a grin.

Tox made a small noise that sounded like a mixture between a laugh and a wheeze, “fuckin’ _Ghosty_ \--”

“Nice to meet you,” Bansha also said, everyone ignoring Tox’s laugh.

Chamille placed a hand on Morro's arm. “We were gonna go out soon, the four of us. We just had to wrap up some cleaning. Do you wanna join?”

Morro contemplated a moment, glancing at the four around him. While it did sound nice, he wasn't sure if he was ready for what being around Bansha and Soul would be like, judging just from the first interaction between them he saw. He shook his head, “no I was just dropping by to say hi. I kinda feel like going back to my room and resting until Lloyd comes back.”

“Ahhh shit that's riiight.” Tox leaned against one of the tables. She turned her head to state, “Lloyd's his boyfriend, he's busy today.”

Morro's face flushed, but he guessed he couldn't say Lloyd _wasn't_ his boyfriend anymore could he. He chose instead to remain silent and simply look away. His attention was drawn back by Chamille patting him on the shoulder reassuringly.

“Do whatever's best for you.” She smiled. “Do you want me to walk you back to your building?” Her eyes gleamed, he could tell that was a veiled offer to go with him so he wouldn't worry about Aiden if he saw him.

“I think I'll be okay,” Morro reassured, smiling gently. “Thanks though.”

After a bit more casual conversation, he gave them a proper goodbye and left. He could text Lloyd again as promised once he was back to their room. That was a good idea, it felt nice to have a goal for when he got back. He could maybe even get a nap in before Lloyd got back.

Of course, life just didn't want to be easy for him did it.

He should have let Chamille walk him back.

Right as he reached the door to his and Lloyd's dorm, midway through getting out his key, an all too familiar voice sounded not too far down the hall from him. “Well if it isn't Morro fucking Storm.”

Morro slowly looked to his right, and sure enough there in the hall was Aiden. Aiden, walking towards him. He really was like a deer caught in the headlights now, frozen with his keys halfway to the door. If he'd only moved faster, maybe he could have gotten inside, gotten away before he reached him. But no, he stayed, stuck and frozen to the spot until Aiden was so close he started to back up, only to squeak in terror when his back hit a wall. He was left, staring in fear at his former roommate who stood a bit too close.

Aiden’s eyes were as dead and uncaring as usual, boring into him with such harshness Morro could swear he could feel himself being set on fire. His key had slipped from his hand, thudding into the ground but he made no move for it and Aiden didn't seem to care. “So, I see the blonde runt isn't here for you to hide behind.” Morro _wished_ his voice would function, but he couldn't speak. “What exactly are you trying to do?”

Morro blinked at him, still afraid but had no idea what he meant. “I… I'm sorry…?

“Reeling in some new guy who deserves way better than you? What are you trying to do with him, you know it's pointless don't you?” Aiden's voice was calm as he spoke, but the scary kind of calm. The kind that left a tension in the air, warning of a storm to come. “He'll leave you the moment he finds someone who isn't trash. What are you trying to get out of him, sex? I mean you are a-”

“I'm not trying to get anything out of him!” Morro couldn't even believe he managed to spew out those words as forcefully as he did, even Aiden seemed a bit taken aback by them. “I don't expect anything he just… he just decides to be nice to me.”

“Are you sure?” Aiden raised his brows at him. “You really think he's nice to _you_ and doesn't expect anything? Or maybe you really are just tricking him cause you're selfish, think of that?”

“He's not like that-”

“How do you know that?!” He snapped this time, eyebrows furrowing together. “You,” he jabbed a finger into Morro's chest, the previous calm vanishing, “don't deserve _shit_. Fucking murderer.”

“I didn't murder anyone-” Morro tried to say, voice choking up. His vision was getting blurry.

“But you _TRIED_!”

Morro shrunk back, arms automatically moving to cover his face when he was yelled at. His mind felt like it was spinning and he felt like he couldn't breath. He feared he'd collapse from how weak his entire body felt. “I'm sorry!” He squeaked out, internally despising himself for being unable to speak up for himself.

“I hope you'll realize I'm the best thing that you'll ever get. That green runt will drop you, and I'll watch you crawl back to be like the little _bitch_ you are.” He spat the insult at him, voice absolutely venomous. “Don't you _ever_ forget you're a good for nothing piece of trash. You chose to be so when you decided to dress like a female bitch every day of your life.” A hand vaguely gestured to his skinny jeans and the makeup on his face. “You're lucky I even am willing to do what I do for you.”

 _Do what, hurt me and constantly talk down to me?_ Morro could feel his throat tightening, to the point it was hard to breathe properly. Still, he managed out, “I… I never wanted anything you did to me…”

“Really? Cause you're never gonna get it from anyone else.” He finally backed off slightly, stepping back. “That blonde piece of shit isn't gonna give you anything. He'll just fucking run away before you ever get the chance. Because he's going to realize how worthless you are.” He turned and walked away at that, hands stuffed into his pockets at he shot a glare back at Morro.

Morro couldn't move, felt frozen to the spot until Aiden disappeared around a corner down the hall. Slowly, he knelt down to grab his keys, eyes wide and unfocused. When he reached his door, his hands were shaking so badly he dropped the keys twice before managing to unlock it. As soon as he was inside, he slammed it shut and quickly fumbled with the lock until he heard it click into place. There were too many thoughts happening at once, he felt dizzy… His mind was pushing every memory of what had happened to the front of his mind, it was like he could feel the burn of bruises on his skin and the soreness in his legs. His mind kept repeating over and over what Aiden had just said to him, telling him it made sense Lloyd didn't _actually_ care, telling him Lloyd _would_ leave him…. He kept imagining going back to Aiden, even though he didn't want to, and that was too much.

Everything was a blur when he stumbled through the room. He didn't realize he was crying, the tears making it even harder to see properly. Mindlessly he dug through the bags in their room until he found something sharp. From whose bag? He had no idea, he didn't care. He was pretty sure he was hyperventilating, accidentally bumping into a door frame with a hitch in his breath. He couldn't breath, he couldn't see, he couldn't focus.

_Lloyd doesn't care._

_Lloyd doesn't care._

_Lloyd doesn't care._

He hardly thought about it when he felt his knees give way, finding himself fallen against the edge of the bathtub. He didn't think when he lifted the sharp object, rolling a hand over to stare down at his wrist.

\-------------------------------------

Lloyd was running back to the campus at the time. He'd started to get worried when Morro didn't send him another text when he promised to, and… Well, he'd sat and he'd asked his father if he should return to check on him. It felt stupid in the moment, asking a memorial, a ghost who couldn't speak, what he should do, but then a wind far too strong to be normal blew past him in the direction of the college. He'd been frozen a moment, in awe, but then even Wu had told him it meant something and he should go. Lloyd hurriedly thanked his Uncle, then thanked his father with a respectful bow to his memorial. Then, he took off sprinting.

Worry gnawed at his gut, even though he tried to logic it out. It was fine, everything was going to be fine. But if that had really been his dad, telling him to go back, that had to mean _something_ right? Maybe he was just being paranoid.

He saw Tox and Chamille in the parking lot with two people he didn't recognize as he came running through it. “HEY!” He shouted, not bothering to go over to them. “Have you seen Morro?”

Tox yelled back, “He went back to y'alls room!”

“Thank you!” Lloyd didn't give them time to ask him any questions despite their confused faces as he took off again. Never had he been so thankful for stamina from martial arts training all these years, he could run forever.

He finally slowed down when he was actually in the hall, trying to take deep breaths. It was fine, everything was fine. He pulled his keys out, opening the door with a suck in of air. The empty room was anticlimactic to say the least. He let go of the breath he hasn't realized he'd been holding. The room was normal, left basically as it was left. Morro's books were on the desk, Lloyd's bed was messy from both sleeping in it the night before, several of Lloyd's bags were still scattered about as he hadn't cleaned them up before leaving.

He sighed, shutting the door behind him. Maybe Morro had just gotten sidetracked and not come back to the room yet… And that's why he didn't text either. Yeah…

But then Lloyd say the ajar bathroom door, the unmistakable form of someone's legs and his heart felt like it stopped. It was like he went into auto-pilot, pushing open the door to reveal… Morro. He was laid across the tiles, one arm and his head against the edge of the bathtub and… There was red everywhere oh _god_. Lloyd saw the glint of his own pocket knife on the floor, and his heart sunk.

There was a moment where everything felt frozen, Lloyd stuck staring in horror at an unmoving body, a distant thought of _oh god he's dead, he's dead, I'm staring at his dead body-_

Then he saw Morro's chest rise and fall with the unmistakable movement of breathing and everything exploded back into motion. Lloyd pulled his phone out without a second thought, pulling up emergency contacts and hitting 911 without hesitation. He put it on speaker phone and set it on the counter so he could grab a towel and move Morro so he was laying on his back, so Lloyd could get a better look at what was hurt and what he needed to stop from bleeding. Another time to be thankful for his training, he was able to push away his panic and focus on the task at hand. 

Seeing Morro's face was scary, he was completely passed out, and he looked paler than he usually did. Pale like a ghost. Lloyd could tell by one glance at his arms that's what he'd gone for, and he did his best to wrap the towel around them and press to stop the bleeding.

“Hello, 911, what's your emergency?”

Lloyd's head snapped up when a female voice spoke. “I found my roommate bleeding heavily from his arms, I think he tried to kill himself.” Thank god he could speak without his voice shaking.

“Can you tell me your address please?”

Lloyd obliged quickly, spitting out the colleges address and which dorm room was theirs.

“Thank you, people are on their way. Have you done anything to his arms?”

Lloyd nodded even though she couldn't see it. “Yes, I grabbed our towels and have them wrapped around his arms right now.”

“Good, keep them from bleeding more as best you can.” There was a pause, sound of typing. “Now, what's your name dear?”

“Lloyd.”

“Your roommate?”

“Morro.”

Her voice was kind, calm and reassuring. “Okay Lloyd, I promise you Morro will be just fine. The hospital isn't too far away, the ambulance should be there in five minutes. Is your door unlocked for when they get there?”

“Uh… No, I'll open it.” He reluctantly got up, running to make sure the door would open for the medics when they got there. He slid back to Morro quickly, applying pressure to his arms again.

The operator kept talking to him until they got there, and once they did she left him with a few more small words of encouragement. He did his best to get out of the medical professionals way, but he followed anxiously when they got Morro onto a stretcher and were wheeling him outside to the ambulance. He was asked questions about what happened, barely any he could answer. He didn't know why Morro did this… Was leaving him alone so long really this bad? No, no that didn't make sense. He knew Morro, that just wasn't right.

He had a sinking feeling it had something to do with Aiden.

When they reached the ambulance, someone stopped him from getting in with a hand on his chest, stating something formal about how only certain people could ride with someone. It led to Lloyd desperately begging them to let him go, and finally just stating in desperation, “ _please_ , he's my boyfriend!”

They let him in with an apology at that.

The ride felt very tense, the people all babbling medical nonsense Lloyd didn't understand. He spent the entire time just staring at Morro and willing every breath he took to be followed by another. He really was forced to be separated from him when they got to the hospital, though he was given a promise once they would update him as soon as they could on Morro's wellbeing. Lloyd was stuck in a waiting room, one leg shaking out of nerves as he stared at a wall. There was a tv playing some random kids cartoons, and a few other people waiting quietly in other seats, but he couldn't focus on any of it.

All he needed to know was if Morro would be okay, and dammit if he wasn't ready to wait hours in that room if he had to just to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY for anyone who skipped: Aiden has a confrontation with Morro, Morro has a really bad breakdownand does the suicide attempt, Lloyd finds him and calls 911 and is now waiting in the hospital for them to say if Morro's okay or not
> 
> OKAY. This chapters very long, but also gets very intense. Please leave a comment with your thoughts if you can ^v^
> 
> My Tumblr is by the same name if you wanna follow


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy this chapter takes place MOSTLY in a hospital, so be warned of that if that would bug you at all, there's some more talk about the previous chapters suicide attempt as well so watch out if that would cause you any distress
> 
> Also there is a fight in this chapter though I don't think I go TOO far into detail?? but just warning just in case, stay safe loves <3

Morro blinked his eyes open, bleary eyed and feeling exhausted despite having been asleep who knows how long. He felt weak, like his body was too heavy and too difficult to try and move. It was dark, he was in a bed… Where was he? He tried to move his hand, only to be met with an ache in his forearms. What the _hell_ …?

He felt movement beside him, and he squinted to the bedside through the darkness. He saw the figure of someone leaned back, seemingly asleep, in a chair next to the bed. At first he felt tense realizing someone was with him in this darkness but then he recognized the blonde hair. He relaxed immediately. It was only Lloyd, that meant he was safe. Exhaustion pulled at his eyes, causing them to slowly drop closed again as the tension left him. If Lloyd was there, everything must be okay.

 

He woke up again to lights, and someone bustling around. He squinted against the bright lights, groaning and lifting and arm to block his vision. He winced, his arm hurt to move, and one look and he realized both his arms were wrapped from the elbows down. What the… He noticed wires seemingly attached to him, though he couldn't see where they went into them as they were under the wrappings. His eyes followed a wire to the machines and devices along his bedside. He didn't know what any of them were, but there was a machine, beeping quietly, another making a soft whirring noise, and one that had a bag attached, dripping something into his arm. He realized suddenly, he was in the hospital.

His attention was drawn to a nurse, who seemed happy he was awake. “Hello sweetheart, how are you feeling?”

He squinted at her a moment, still confused what was really going on. “My arms hurt,” he murmured.

“Yes, well you did do a doozy to ‘em.” She was checking the machines by his bedside, Morro couldn't tell what she was checking for. “Your friends getting breakfast at the hospitals cafeteria. He stayed here all night with you.”

Friend? He didn't know who she was talking about… Then, all in a rush as he suddenly remembered everything. It felt like a wall slamming into him, knocking the air out of him as he gasped. Oh god… What did he _do_ to himself?!

And Lloyd… Lloyd was here! Lloyd had been here all night!

Before his thoughts could descend into negativity and guilt, the door opened. There was Lloyd, carrying a bag of food and a water bottle. His eyes widened when he saw Morro awake, but it turned into a small, hesitant smile. “Hey.”

Morro couldn't respond. He felt nervous seeing him. He wasn't sure _why_. Maybe scared Lloyd would be mad he did what he did? What if Lloyd told him he was too much to handle and left? What if… 

He jumped as Lloyd plopped into the seat he'd been sleeping in when Morro had woke up in the middle of the night. “Can he eat anything?” Lloyd asked the nurse.

“Sure, just don't force down too much if you can't handle it,” She addressed Morro at that. He gave a small nod. “I'll leave you two be, but please remember you'll have to leave eventually so we can do some more tests.”

“That's alright, as long as I can talk to him before I go,” Lloyd said.

She nodded, offered them both a smile, and disappeared out the door. Morro was left with Lloyd, and the air felt tense. Neither seemed to know what to say. Lloyd broke their silence by asking him what the nurse already asked, “How are you feeling?”

Morro hadn't fully taken in how he felt when the nurse had asked him, still in the middle of his confusion and uncertainty of where he was. Now, he took a moment to really take into account how much his arms ached, how his emotions felt thoroughly exhausted, making his entire body feel too heavy and too tired. “Not good,” he admitted in a quiet voice.

Lloyd didn't say anything, and Morro was too nervous to look at him so he couldn't see what his facial expression was. He heard the bag rustling, and after a moment he was greeted with a yogurt cup and spoon being held in front of him. “I thought it'd be the easiest thing to eat,” Lloyd explained.

Morro nodded, and took it slowly, the ache in his arms pulsing whenever he moved too fast. They fell into silence again, the only sound being that of the machines and of him eating. He wasn't sure how long passed, but he felt himself slowly relaxing again with the silence. It allowed him to think and mull over everything that had happened. Given the time to wrap his head around it, he finally spoke again. “It was… because of Aiden.” Lloyd went tense next to him, but he didn't speak, a silent invitation for Morro to continue talking. “He confronted me outside our room. He said… You didn't actually care. And I was using you. That I tricked you into liking me…” His voice hitched as he said it, and to force himself not to let out a sob he shoved another spoonful of yogurt into his mouth.

Lloyd was quiet for a long time. When he spoke, his voice was dark and dangerous, “ _I hate him_.” Morro had never seen Lloyd so angry before, it scared him a bit. “You know all he said was lies, right?” Lloyd's voice became softer now. “I care about you so much. If I didn't, why else would I stay here all night?” 

“Yeah…” Morro murmured. “I know. Just, in the moment everything he said felt so… _real_.”

He finally looked at Lloyd when the blonde placed his hand on his shoulder. Though he gave him a reassuring smile, there was anger hidden behind his eyes, likely anger being saved for Aiden. “I understand,” he said gently, “I have to go but I'll be back later today, okay?”

Morro nodded, watching him get up and leave with a frown. He hoped Lloyd stayed safe…

\-------------------------------------

Lloyd had to call Kai to pick him up. When he said he was at the hospital, Kai had freaked out. “What happened”, “are you okay”, and “who do I need to kill” were all thrown at him multiple times, in the span of a few seconds before he could even speak. “KAI!” He'd finally yelled just to get his friend to listen. “I'm okay! It's not me who had to get taken here. It's Morro.”

There was a long stretch of silence on the other end, but finally Kai said, “Okay, I'm on my way.”

Lloyd had explained to him on the way back what happened, though he spared him some of the more gruesome details of what state Morro was in when he found him. He explained staying there all night to make sure Morro was okay too. Kai was quiet for a long time, hands gripping the steering wheel of his car so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

“ _Jesus_ ,” was all he grumbled under his breath after a few minutes.

Getting closer to the colleges campus, Kai explained he'd already told everyone where he was going. They were all going to be waiting for Lloyd when they got back. Kai had been right, their friends all gathered in the courtyard of the campus when Lloyd and Kai showed up. Lloyd was nearly knocked off his feet as Jay left Nya's side to tackle him in a hug.

“LLO-O-OYDDDDD!” Jay cried out, voice hitching with what sounded like sobs as he did. It was confirmed he was indeed crying as he held him out at arm's length. “Kai said you were at the hospital and he had to get you and I was so worried, I thought you were badly hurt, are you okay, what happened, did everything go oka-”

“Jay, Jay, shhh,” Lloyd tried to speak gently, lifting his hands to place on the redheads shoulders, which helped quiet him so the blonde could speak. “I'm okay, I promise.”

Jay sniffled, using the heel of his palm to wipe at his eyes, before looking Lloyd over again properly. “You don't… don't look hurt.”

“That's because I'm not, I promise, it's just-” He started, but stopped before he could finish. His eyes locked onto to someone else, across the courtyard. He squeezed Jay’s shoulders slightly. “Hold that thought.”

He pushed past his friends, leaving them confused as he ran across the grass towards the person responsible for where Morro was right now. Aiden. He was with his own, smaller, friend group, but Lloyd didn't even look at them. With both hands, he shoved the taller man as hard as he could and sent him stumbling. The group around him all backed off immediately, mumbling to each other as they watched. Lloyd had a thought in the back of his mind they all might just be as shitty and disloyal as he was.

“What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!” Lloyd yelled at him. His friends must have ran after him, he heard a gasp behind him and what sounded like Cole murmur, “Holy shit Lloyd is pissed”.

Aiden glared down at him, very obviously angry at being pushed. “What the hell?” He then recognized him, immediately snapping, “oh great, it's _you_. What did the bitch send you to get ‘revenge'?” He made air quotes with the last word.

Lloyd felt angry. He'd never felt this angry in his life. “Do you know what Morro did because of you?!”

“Don't know, don't care.”

He felt his hands tighten into fists at his sides. “He hurt himself because of you, you asshole!” He yelled.

Aiden… laughed. He _laughed_. “Oh my god, so he's emo now?” He did a mock “emo” impression, over the top as he faked slicing his arm. “Ugh, I'm gonna cut my wrists cause someone said they didn't like my hairrr.” He broke off laughing again after it. “Wow, he really-”

He didn't get to continue, Lloyd shrieked in absolute fury and leaped at him. Everything after was a blur, too many voices yelling all at once as the pair slammed into the dirt. Lloyd felt himself get hit across the face hard, but he just hit back. He was thrown onto his back, and was left gasping for air as he was crushed beneath a far too heavy weight on top of him. He managed to turn the tables and he was back on top again, though at this point he was throwing all his proper training out the window and simply fighting to keep the other off of him at this point. Suddenly, he felt hands on him, the familiar voices of his friends, and then he everything slowed down again as he was dragged off of Aiden.

“Come on, Lloyd he's had enough,” he registered Kai’s voice speaking next to him as he calmed down, and he looked to see Cole and Kai were the ones who'd grabbed him, with everyone else now gathering around him too to make sure he was alright (and probably to make sure he didn’t jump at Aiden again).

Aiden had his own pals kneeling around him, he was sitting up and he looked about as pissed as one could look. Lloyd felt a small swell of satisfaction though as he saw he had a split lip and what looked like bruising cheek, amongst being absolutely covered in dirt from their tussle. Though then he began to realize how he himself felt. One of his eyes hurt, his ribs ached from when he was thrown into the ground with all of Aiden’s weight on him. He wheezed, lifting a hand to press the spot where his eye hurt. He winced, feeling it swelling. He was gonna have a black eye for sure. One of his ankles felt like it had been twisted weird as well.

“Fuck you!” Aiden yelled at him as he struggled to his feet.

“Fuck you!” Lloyd spit back, earning Cole's arms tightening around him a bit as if to make sure he would lunge forward, because he certainly tried to.

Kai snapped, “Hey _enough_.” He looked at Lloyd, then at Aiden, eyes fiery with emotion but voice cold and stern. He pointed at Aiden, “ _You_ got what you get if your gonna talk bad about someone's friend in front of them.” He looked at Lloyd again. “And _you_ got what you get if you start a fight. Now leave it.”

Aiden didn't move right away, but after a moment of glaring he grumbled, “Whatever.” He looked at his own group, “let's get out of here.” Most of them were on their phones, and Lloyd could hear them laughing like the fight had been funny to see as they walked away with him. He’d never been so disgusted with a group of people in his life.

They left, and as soon as they were gone Zane turned to Lloyd with concern written across his face. “Morro's hurt?”

“Yes.” Lloyd sighed, he felt Kai and Cole let go of him finally, stepping away a bit so he could breathe. “It's all _that_ assholes fault,” he glared in the direction Aiden went.

“This is really serious if your mad enough to swear,” Jay mumbled. “You like… never swear.”

Cole asked, “Is Morro the one at the hospital?”

Lloyd nodded, and he noticed as he looked at his friends, Zane and Jay looked worried, Kai and Cole looked a mixture of concerned and mad, and Nya had a tense, uneasy expression. He didn't blame any of them for any of the emotions they were expressing, he felt like he was feeling all of them at the same time. “Morro told me he hurt himself because of stuff Aiden told him yesterday, while I wasn't there. They're keeping him at the hospital for a little while to do tests since it was… a suicide attempt.”

There was a long, heavy silence, before Nya of all people stepped forward. “Can we… visit him? Is there anything we can bring him that would help?”

Lloyd was surprised, but he smiled when he realized she was trying really hard to be considerate despite her previous dislike for Morro. “Yeah, we can go back over later today… I wanna talk to his drama friends before we do if thats okay.”

“Totally is, I’ll go with you,” Cole said immediately, already looking ready to start heading over there.

“I’ll go as well,” Zane quickly added.

“Me too!!” Jay basically hopped as he said it, wearing the most serious expression he’d ever been seen with.

“I… I want to stay with you guys,” Nya mumbled, rubbing her arm nervously.

Lloyd was surprised that all his friends wanted to stay with him, but he was glad they all cared enough to. “Are you sure you guys don’t have anything to do…?”

Kai patted him on the back. “Trust me man, this is way more important right now.”

Lloyd took a deep breath, and let it out with a sigh. He smiled at his friends, all standing around him still. “Thank you guys…”

 

Tox and Chamille were easy to find when they went into the drama departments building. At first they were excited to see Lloyd but immediately grew worried when they saw his black eye. He brushed off their worries, telling them it didn’t matter and instead explained everything that had happened with Morro. He felt horrible having to watch their expressions change from confused, to horrified, to distraught, but he felt they deserved to know. When he explained he got the black eye getting into a fight with Aiden, Tox quickly volunteered to help him fight him next time. Chamille told her fighting isn't the answer sternly, but she seemed just as angry at Aiden despite her words. She had an idea though, and quickly described it to everyone. Lloyd was more than happy with it, agreeing immediately. They were going to have some of the group make a nice poster for Morro, and others decided they’d go out and buy him nice things to help him feel better. Jay, Nya and Zane volunteered to help Tox with a poster, Chamille said she would take her truck and anyone who wanted to go with her to a nearby store to find stuff for Morro. Lloyd, Kai, and Cole all went with her, saying they’d be back as soon as they could.

They had fun finding things for Morro, despite the sad reasons behind it all. Cole said sweets were very important, insisting they get him candy, while Kai got him other junk foods that weren’t candy for “variety”. Lloyd and Chamille found books he would like and also an adult coloring book that would give him something to do whenever he was waiting in his room until they finally let him go home. Once they were happy with what they found, they split the cost between themselves and headed back.

The poster the others had made was almost done by the time they got back, and Soul and Bansha had joined in helping make it. Tox said she told them what was going on and they volunteered to help despite only meeting Morro once before. Lloyd thanked them from the bottom of his heart. He didn’t think he could thank any of them enough. He just hoped Morro would like all of this.

\-------------------------------------

Morro was staring at the ceiling. He was bored and had nothing to do now the doctors testings for the day were done. They had asked him a lot of questions, he was sure they were trying to make sure he was mentally stable enough to go home when they released him. He wasn’t so sure he could actually go back to the college campus _again_ after this. The more he thought about it, the more he thought about running into Aiden again and the more terrified he got. He grimaced and squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to think about it. They offered to turn the tv on for him earlier, but he had declined. Now he wished he said yes, anything would be better than laying here without anything to distract his mind from the dark thoughts flitting about in it.

Just before it could get much worse though, he jumped at a knock on his door. When he looked, he saw Lloyd in the doorway, smiling at him. “Hey,” he said with a smile. He had a bag hanging off one arm, but Morro didn’t even think to question it, just happy to see him… Then he noticed his eye and grew worried. Before he could ask though Lloyd continued, “I brought some people who wanted to check on you.”

Morro felt his chest clench up out of nerves at first when everyone else came in, but rather than any judging looks he saw only kind smiles. He realized alongside Lloyd's friends, Tox and Chamille were there and… Nya. He didn't know what to think of that, she'd been nothing but stubborn in regards to him this entire time and yet, there she was. She wasn't looking at him, gaze directed down uncomfortably. She seemed as much as at a loss for what to do as he was.

“Okay, so-” Chamille spoke first, smiling softly at him even though there was a hidden sadness behind them when she looked at the state he was in. “We made you something.” She pulled a rolled up paper out of the bag she'd been carrying, and with Tox’s help unrolled it for him to see. It was basically a big, pretty “get well soon” card in poster form. It had a bunch of art doodled around the border and around the big letters. He saw tons of writing on it, likely from each of them, and they brought it over so he could see it better.

He was in shock at first, staring down at it as they helped set it in his lap. He lifted a hand despite his forearms aching when he moved and ran it over the side of the poster, eyes scanning over all the signatures. Everyone who was here had signed it, along with Soul Archer and Bansha leaving scribbles of their names as well. “You guys…”

“And we bought you stuff!” Kai announced, lifting grocery bags hanging off his arms. Lloyd did the same, grinning at him.

“Oh my god, you _guys_ …”

Lloyd continued, “We weren't sure how long they'd make you stay so we thought we'd get you stuff to make it not as boring.”

Morro stared, before simply breaking off laughing. He was laughing more from disbelief than anything. There was no way people actually cared about him this much and yet… Here they were, proving they did. “None of you had to do this,” he mumbled.

“Maybe not, but we wanted to,” Zane said.

“Can we show you what we got you?” Cole smiled at him as he asked.

Morro nodded, and the group gathered around to show him what they'd picked out. He was laughing in disbelief again at all the food, amazed anyone would want to buy him it. Kai started into how he got “a little carried away” and “wasn't sure what kinds of stuff he liked so he just got everything”. Which only amused Morro more. He said thank you, and then Lloyd and Chamille were picking out the books they'd gotten him. That was where his heart was truly stolen.

“Oh my gosh, you remembered the type of books I like,” Morro breathed out, already picking up and reading the back of one of the ones they got him.

“Of course I did.” Lloyd smiled.

They were quiet a moment, letting Morro squint and read over the back of the book. It was harder without his reading glasses but oh well, he could ask for Lloyd to bring him them next time. “Thank you,” he finally said, a genuine smile spread across his face.

“Hey Morro?” They all looked up when Jay spoke, standing next to Nya with a hand on her shoulder. “Nya wants to say something.”

Nya shifted, uneasy now they were all looking at her. “I-I, um…” She rubbed her arm awkwardly. “I'm really… sorry. I'm sorry I didn't give you a chance, I'm sorry I didn't know Aiden was so…” rather than say something, she made a vague hand gesture since she wasn’t sure what word to use, along with a disgusted expression that Morro could completely agree with.

“It's okay,” Morro said slowly. “I wouldn't really trust me either if I saw what I did.” 

Nya looked up finally, meeting his gaze. “I'm… willing to try and be better now. If you'll let me.”

“I wouldn't mind trying either,” he replied.

They both fell silent as neither knew what to say now. Kai broke the silence with a “jeez, _finally_ ,” which earned him a punch in the shoulder from his sister. The siblings broke off laughing at each other and the tension was gone immediately. There were several chairs and stools to sit on for visitors, though not nearly enough for their entire group. Lloyd suggested maybe they should take turns talking to Morro now, saying he could show everyone else where the hospitals cafeteria was. Jay quickly volunteered to say hi first, Tox and Chamille staying as well.

Morro was more than happy to see them, though a little nervous. He didn't really know any of these three as well as he knew someone like Cole or Lloyd, but that didn't mean they weren't his friends… Right? No, yes, they were his friends. He shouldn't be worrying so much. “Hi,” he said when they took their seats.

“Hi,” Chamille said back, smiling at him. “Do you want to talk about what happened…?”

“I'm… sure I can't say anything Lloyd didn't already.” Morro looked down at his arms again, frowning at the bandages still wrapped tightly around them.

He looked back up when he heard someone sniffling. Jay was crying, but rubbing at his eyes to try and stop it. “I was _so worried_ for you!” He stated. “As soon as Lloyd told us I got so scared, I just wanted you to be okay.” He threw his hands up, accidentally saying much louder, “Why didn't you talk to anyone?! You coulda talked to me even!! I know you don't know me super well but I'm always here if you need it!”

“Jay-”

“And plus, that Aiden guy! You guys should have told us he was trying to mess with you, I woulda punched him right in the-”

“JAY.” He stopped his babbling when Morro snapped at him. He continued, softly, “Jay I don't even have your number.

The redhead blinked slowly, mouth falling open in a small “oh”. He nodded quickly, crossing his arms. “Okay, well as soon as your back I'm giving you it.”

“Okay,” Morro tried to give him his best smile. He knew Jay was an emotional guy, that he meant only the best with what he said, but all that had felt like a bit too much at once. Chamille seemed to have caught on to it, she always did, and leaned to murmur something to Tox before she spoke.

Tox nodded to Chamille before saying, “If you need anything ever we also are here for you. Uh, Soul and Bansha too.”

“Of course.”

“And I also will fight Aiden for you!” She spit the words out as fast as she could before Chamille could get mad at her for it. That earned her a elbow in the side from said girl, along with a small glare. He didn't express his thanks aloud, but he was glad Chamille was at least _trying_ to help keep people from mentioning Aiden to him.

The three left after making sure someone was ready to come see him next, and he relaxed a bit when Cole and Zane came in. It wasn't like he didn't like Jay, Tox and Chamille, but the three in one room together could be a little much at once. Cole and Zane had always been very laid back every time he'd been around them though, so he was grateful.

“Heyy, you doing alright? Jay looked like he started crying again.” Cole slid onto one of the bedside stools with ease.

“Again?” Morro raised a brow.

“He was a mess when Kai first called to tell us where he and Lloyd were coming back from,” Zane explained, also taking a seat. “He's always been one to wear his heart on his sleeve.”

“I've noticed,” Morro murmured.

Cole looked around at all the machines Morro had also been questioning when he'd first woken up. “What are all these for?”

“Keeping track of vitals,” Zane answered immediately. “That,” he pointed to the bag thing still connected to one of Morro's arms, “was likely either feeding blood or nutrients or both into you so you didn't die due to your blood loss.” He leaned past Cole, pointing to another machine. “That's a heart monitor-”

“I know what a heart monitor is,” Cole cut him off before he could continue on to explain any others.”

“Well, you asked.”

Morro smiled watching them talk back and forth. He was glad they were in here, they hadn't bothered him about Aiden, or about his arms, they were just… there. He felt like he needed it, some people to just be there for a bit rather than promise him they'd fight Aiden or whatever. The promises to fight him were nice, but he had tried to off himself less than a day ago thanks to the guy, he didn't really want to think about him at all.

The pair stayed and chatted with him for awhile, Zane only asking once if he wanted to talk about what happened. When he said he didn't want to think about it they both were respectful, Cole changing topics to instead a new addition to the dogs he walked. Morro liked listening to Cole talk, he had a really good way of telling stories that never made it sound boring, and a voice that was just pleasant to the ears. Considering Zane just let him ramble on about different things during their visit, he liked listening to him as well.

Eventually they left as Kai and Lloyd came back, waving goodbye as they went. Morro waved back, wincing slightly at the movement. He was happy Lloyd was back, smile warm and relaxing to see. He was still worried about his black eye, but he waited on asking for now. They both talked to him a lot like how Cole and Zane had, not bringing up any of what had happened or bringing up Aiden. Lloyd and Kai were more energetic and loud than the previous pair though. Kai had way too many good stories to tell to pass the time, apparently all true stories of things he'd either seen or experienced himself. The wild tales he told had all three of them breaking down laughing as he told the stories, sometimes having to stop mid-sentence cause he was laughing too hard. Morro had to admit, it felt good to have a proper, genuine laugh after all of this.

Eventually, Lloyd asked if he could be alone with Morro for awhile. Kai obliged, giving his goodbye to Morro and telling Lloyd he'd be waiting for him. Once he was gone, one of Lloyd's hands found one of Morro's, and when he took it, he simply rubbed his thumb over the back of his hand as they sat in silence a moment. It was nice…. Soothing in a way.

“You look exhausted,” Lloyd murmured.

“Yeah… A lot of unexpected social stuff. After something super emotionally draining.”

Lloyd frowned a bit. “Sorry, I should have given you better warning before letting them all come here like that.”

Morro squeezed his hand slightly. “It's okay, it was a nice surprise.”

They both fell back into silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. It gave Morro a moment to just breathe and think after everyone talking to him. It was… weird. Weird that everyone cared enough to show up, weird Nya had finally decided to give him a chance, weird that he was even _here_. Sure he knew he'd had thoughts about trying to do this before, when his depression had been _really_ bad when he was with Aiden… but he never thought something bad enough would happen to push him to actually _do_ it. He never thought he’d be strong enough. He'd always been too scared when with Aiden, and he thought the thoughts wouldn't come back after the entire Aiden and rock incident had happened. He frowned, and decided to speak up rather than let his thoughts consume him again. “What happened to your eye…?”

Lloyd perked, before giving a slightly pained smile. “I kinda… got into a fight with Aiden?”

“Oh my god, no you didn’t-”

Lloyd’s attempt at a smile fell and he sighed. “No yeah… I did…”

Morro pressed his mouth into a thin line, not sure if he should be happy Lloyd actually fought Aiden for him, angry at Lloyd for doing something so stupid, or scared because there was no way Aiden wouldn’t turn this into his fault somehow. “I… You didn’t need to.”

Lloyd glanced at him, and he seemed upset seeing Morro’s distressed facial expression. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, running his thumb over the back of Morro’s hand again. “He was saying super bad stuff and I just… lost it.”

Morro took a deep breath, letting it out with a small, sad laugh. “I guess I can’t be mad at you, I know exactly what that feels like… To just lose it at him.”

Lloyd frowned, but instead of responding simply lifted Morro’s hand to press a kiss against his fingers. They both went back to not talking, but as the silence stretched on, it felt like all of Morro’s emotions finally caught up with him. He took in a shaking breath, before the breath he let out came out a quiet sob. Lloyd looked up at him again, looking about as distraught as Morro felt. He shut his eyes, not wanting to see Lloyd sad because of him, but he couldn’t stop now that he started, his tears taking over. “Oh Morro…” He heard Lloyd murmur it barely above a whisper, and felt his bed shift as he moved to sit on the side of it with him. Lloyd didn’t say anything, he wasn’t sure what he could say, so instead he chose to just be there and let Morro cry it out. Morro opened his eyes to look up at Lloyd, into his worried green eyes and at his beautiful blonde hair and his stupid handsome face, still handsome even with a black eye. He was pretty sure he loved him, and something about that felt terrifying and amazing at the same time. He ended up lifting his arms to silently ask Lloyd to lay down with him. Lloyd obliged, being careful not to hurt Morro’s wrapped arms or knock into anything he shouldn’t be touching, and shifted himself next to him so the brunette could snuggle against his side. He was still crying, but it was quieter now, he felt better just being able to lay there with him. 

Lloyd propped his head up with one hand, the other running his fingers through Morro’s hair. It was soothing, and helped him calm down faster. His crying was soon reduced to just sniffling as he pressed his face against Lloyd’s chest. “Do you think you’re even allowed to lay here with me…?” He asked quietly.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m not hurting anything being here,” Lloyd responded gently. “Do you need me to stay? I can try and make them let me stay the night again.”

Morro thought about it, but shook his head. “No… I don’t want you to sleep in a chair again…” He looked up at Lloyd, hoping his eyes didn’t look red from crying. “Can you bring me my glasses tomorrow?”

Lloyd smiled, and nodded. “I will.” He dipped his head down to press a kiss to Morro’s forehead, before he pushed himself back up. “Promise you’ll be okay?”

“Promise.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow Morro.” He smiled back at him.

Morro did his best smile in response. “See you.”

As Lloyd went to meet Kai where the brunette was waiting, as promised, all he could think was that he couldn’t let Aiden keep walking around with no consequences for what he’d done to Morro. The only problem was, he needed to be able to prove Aiden _did_ anything first. He was more than aware Morro didn’t feel ready to tell any authorities about it himself, but if he could trick Aiden into admitting it… Hm.

Lloyd Garmadon had a feeling he was forming a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK AT THAT, I UPDATED AND IT HASNT BEEN A MONTH *WHHHAAAAATTT*
> 
> Thank you all so so much for supporting me every time I update, it means so much to me. We're getting close to the end guys!!!
> 
> If you wanna see the random posts I make as I work on writing(I talk about any and all fics Im working on or planning for, though this fics my main focus at the moment), or the random things I reblog to my writing blog, the blogs name is the same as this account, Cylawings!
> 
> Also, if you enjoyed pretty please try to leave a comment!! You have no idea how much every single comment means to me, I love hearing my readers thoughts! That's all <3 until next chapter, see you~
> 
> EDIT: just wanted to say, I don't know much about hospitals so the hospital stuff in this was based off my own limited knowledge and experiences, do not taKe any of what I wrote to be like, super accurate cause Idk if it is or not


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